Running in the Night
by unicorn1111
Summary: On the trail of a serial killer Jane and Maura travel to New York to assist the NYPD, only to find their killer is far beyond their imaginings. Definitely AU
1. Chapter 1

Hi all and welcome to my latest story. I know I should be finishing Book 2 of Intersecting Lines, but a throw away line between characters there sank its teeth into me and wouldn't let go (pun only partially intended).

There will be one update a day until this is complete.

This is an AU story obviously, with no relationship to Intersecting Lines. It contains a number of adult themes, including power and dominance and non-consensual sexual content, in addition to lesbian sexual content. I understand that may not be everyone's thing, but stories involving this setting generally tend to have erotic undertones, going all the way back to Carmilla Karnstein.

Besides, when I write sex scenes, I get lots of reviews and PM's so who am I to not give the audience what they want? :)

**Running in the Night Part 1**

New York wasn't Jane Rizzoli's town, she had enough crazy in Boston without looking for more in the big, rotten apple; unfortunately she didn't have too much choice in the matter.

They'd been chasing a serial killer for almost two weeks, not that they'd known what they were dealing with at first. Homicide had been called to a body found fished out of the Charles River, so badly decomped Maura hadn't been able to find much; the guy had been in the river for a couple of days and between the water and the fish, there hadn't been much forensic evidence left for her to discover.

Four days later they'd fished another out; this one was a lot fresher, enough so that Maura could confirm that the vic had been mutilated post death. Half the throat and shoulder had been ripped out, god knows where that was or what had done it. Maura had tagged cause of death to blood loss, it seems the poor son of a bitch had bled out and been ripped up afterwards.

Bad enough someone let the guy bleed to death, mutilating the body afterwards was just sick. Mind you, that covered a lot of the people they convicted, what was yet another crazy?

Jane kept on telling herself that as another body turned up five days later, once more pulled out of the river, same cause of death, same damage to the throat and shoulders.

All three were male, but their ages differed, one was a party goer, dance parties, raves, that sort of thing. He'd disappeared after leaving a nightclub well after 1AM; another was a homeless guy, Rondo had identified him as someone he'd met from time to time, kept to himself, stayed out of trouble mostly, until trouble found him.

The third was a security guard; he'd disappeared from a warehouse he'd been patrolling. His car was found where he'd left it; someone had jumped him while he'd been doing his rounds, so quick he hadn't been able to radio anything in.

Jane had been catching flak from Cavanagh; he was passing it down from the brass who'd been catching it from the Mayor, who in turn had been taking a pounding in the media. Like they say, shit runs downhill, ending up on her desk. The 'River Ripper' was what the media had dubbed the killer, screaming from every outlet about the Boston PDs inability to catch this guy; needless to say no one was getting much sleep.

In the middle of it, they'd caught another couple of murders all on the same morning, one guy burned to death, doused in kerosene and set alight; a truly miserable way to go. The next one had been wrapped in chains and hung from a construction site crane. Apparently he'd also been burnt, though this time Maura couldn't tell what with, he'd apparently just burnt to a crisp; his body blackened and shrivelled up like meat left on the grill, forgotten till all that's left is gristle and cinder.

Just as everyone was afraid we were dealing with a second serial killer, a third body had turned up that morning. This one had been tossed into a garbage truck and crushed and mangled into small pieces; that one had been bad, naturally Frost had lost his breakfast on that one and even Korsak had been a little green when they'd opened the truck up.

Maura though, she'd been so calm about it, most people couldn't work her out, how she'd be so refined and lovely on one hand and on the other work elbow deep in something like that, all without it getting to her. Well, it did get to her, but you wouldn't know it, everyone thinks she's this emotionless 'Queen of the Dead', but a few people know better. Frost, Frankie, Korsak and Jane, they see the real Maura. God knows she's ended up curled up on Jane's couch often enough, letting her help Maura deal with the stuff they see.

Everyone else see's the cool professional, the impeccably dressed woman who doesn't flinch at anything. Jane saw the vulnerable woman coming apart on her sofa, sometimes crying her eyes out, seeing her like that ripped Jane's heart out.

Jane was Maura's ferocious protector, she'd die before letting anything bad happen to her, for reasons she wouldn't admit to anyone, let alone herself, she'd lay down her life to protect Mura.

Which is why they'd driven up from Boston together; they'd had a call from the NYPD, two kids who'd turned up dead up there, same MO as the vic's back in Boston, or so it seemed. They'd asked Maura to come up to meet with their ME and brief her in on what she'd found so Jane went with her, partly to bring the NYPD up to speed and partly because she wanted to come along with Maura. Dead kids hit Maura hard and Jane wanted to be there in case her friend needed her.

Maura on the other hand was just as quietly glad that Jane had accompanied her; Jane was her rock, her source of strength, whatever happened, with Jane accompanying her, she would be safe.

They'd been taken through to meet the ME on the case, a Melinda Warner. Maura and Melinda were soon lost in a technical discussion, Jane was listening with half an ear when the door opened and in walked a female detective, attractive with short hair, a solid, powerful build, jacket, jeans and boots, all practical stuff for what they did. She looked round, her eyes taking Jane in, before she walked over, holding out her hand.

"Hi, Olivia Benson, SVU, you must be Detective Rizzoli" Jane nodded and straightened up, reaching her hand out to take Benson's.

"Yep, good to meet you" She half turned. "This is our Medical Examiner, Doctor Maura Isles"

Jane saw Benson's eyes widen slightly, mind you lots of people have that reaction when they first meet Maura. She was wearing some god awfully expensive dress and heels combo that would cost Jane more than a month's salary and despite sitting in the car for hours, still looked fresh as a daisy. Honestly, Jane had no idea how she did it, maybe something they teach at those fancy European boarding schools? Benson turned and took several steps over to greet Maura.

"Hi Doc, thanks for coming in…" Her eyes flicked back to Jane. "…both of you. When we got the hits in the system on a similar MO to our victims, I was glad to hear you'd be coming in to talk to us" Maura was charming as usual.

"Oh, it was our pleasure Detective Benson, Doctor Warner was kind enough to fill us in on the victim's, I have yet to examine them however it does seem as if there may be some similarities between the victim's" Warner nodded.

"We were just about to have a look at your vics, if you'd like to walk this way?"

Ten minutes later it was confirmed, both these kids had been killed in exactly the same way, bled out, then their throats and shoulders ripped open and the bodies dumped in the East River.

While Maura and Doctor Warner chatted about evidence, the detectives walked up to the Special Victim's Unit; it'd come to them in the first place because of suspicions that it had involved sexual assault as well as murder. Unfortunately the effects of immersion in the pretty toxic sludge of the river had erased any evidence of rape, same as back in Boston.

Jane was introduced to some of Benson's co-workers before they sat down and Jane briefed Olivia in on what little they'd learnt Benson in turn explained the little they had on the latest killings. The only clues she had were reports of a single male in the vicinity of the last known sightings of the victim's, but they'd found nothing more. Turns out they had surveillance footage of a male lurking in the vicinity of the site of the first kid's disappearance, too indistinct to get an ID from though. Jane grimaced.

"What was a nine year old girl doing walking home alone?" Benson shrugged.

"Poor family, her mother worked as a maid for a family on Fifth Avenue, the kid's home was only three blocks from the school, they thought it was safe" She looked over at Jane. "We know better but they thought it was ok. She was a single mum, it's not like she had a choice"

"Yeah, I kinda get it, but still..." Benson nodded; for all the reasons, it still didn't feel right. Jane looked up.

"What you got on the second vic?"

"Not much" Liv admitted. "The girl was on a school excursion down at Battery Park, two teachers, forty kids. One minute she's there with the rest of them then she's missing and no one saw anything" Jane frowned.

"I take it a search turned up nothing" Benson nodded slowly.

"Nothing, there one second, gone the next"

"Shit"

"Yeah"


	2. Chapter 2

Standard disclaimers apply: I don't own these characters, their ownership resides with the legal rights holders, I'm just grateful for the opportunity to play with them.

Besides, what are the chances of the writers of either show doing a story like this? Somewhat less than zero methinks. Not that Sasha or Stephanie or Angie or Mariska couldn't pull it off though, hmm, some tasty images right there :)

**Running in the Night Part 2**

Hours later they were still there, both detectives had loosened up a lot, both realising the other was one of the good ones, dedicated, committed to solving the cases, avenging the victims, kindred spirits.

They were standing there, discussing some old cases, including some of the really stupid alibi's people had trotted out to them over the years, some of them really, really stupid. Liv was finishing off a story.

"Then, this guy turns around and tells me that it couldn't possibly be him, he was busy the other side of town. When I asked him doing what, he told me he'd been breaking into a place on the lower east side. Turns out he was right, so we couldn't get him for rape, but he still went up for break and enter, it was his third offence so the judge sent him away for a damned long time. I tell you, some people are just idiots" Jane and Liv shared a chuckle, in complete agreement.

"It is nice to see that you are hitting it off so well" Jane turned at the welcome voice and smiled at Maura, seeing her standing there, though she didn't care for her being openly stared at by every cop in view. "What was so funny?" Olivia smiled.

"Oh, we were just comparing old cases, turns out we've both had some doozies in our careers" Maura smiled, remembering some of their cases, they certainly qualified as 'doozies', or at least she thought they did, if doozie meant what she understood it to mean.

"I came up to ask if you were ready for dinner, it is getting rather late and we did not have lunch" In unison both checked their watches, it was well after six and if Maura's stomach was exhibiting signs of the early stages of hunger pangs, the detectives were probably worse, after all they had probably subsisted all day on the dreadful institutional coffee that seemed endemic to police departments.

"Yeah, sorry Maur, I lost track of time, we sorta got caught up" Liv gave a rueful smile.

"Yeah sorry Doctor Isles, my fault"

"Oh not at all, I am more than familiar with the rather irregular eating habits that Jane here displays. It would appear that you exhibit some of the same tendencies" Olivia smiled at the Doctor's precise diction; it reminded her more than little of someone else.

"Yeah well, sometimes the job sinks its teeth into you and it's hard to let go" Maura tilted her head in agreement.

"I understand. Given you both seemed to be having a good time, would you like to join us for dinner, if you are free that is" Maura smiled. "I am not sure what cuisine you may prefer, though Jane here does have a preference for authentic American fare" Jane leaned over towards Liv and stage whispered.

"Burger and fries" Liv shrugged.

"Nothing wrong with that" Maura just shook her head in mock exasperation at her friend, before smiling at Olivia again.

"Perhaps you could recommend something a little healthier as you are more familiar with dining options here in New York?"

"Well I'm not the one to ask, Alex is usually the one to give dining tips, but I can ask her" At the unspoken question on both women's faces Olivia explained. "Alex Cabot is one of our Assistant District Attorney's and she handles a lot of our cases. She's a good friend and we eat out regularly, normally at some place she recommends" Maura smiled.

"Well then, perhaps you could ask her for a recommendation, even better perhaps she could join us, if she is free?"

Twenty minutes later the three of them were in a cab on their way to a restaurant just off Fifth Avenue, the maître d cast a slight sneer at Jane and Olivia's clothes, before smiling in genuine pleasure when he spotted Maura's obviously designer label ensemble. They were swiftly led to a corner table where they indulged in some small talk before Liv spotted Alex crossing the floor and stood to greet her, getting a kiss on the cheek in return.

"Hey Alex, good to see you" Maura and Jane both took notice of the real smiles of pleasure on Olivia's face and on the stunning blonde woman standing with her, exchanging a quick glance before standing.

"Alex, this is Detective Jane Rizzoli and Doctor Maura Isles, they're up from Boston to help us out on a case we're working on. Maura, Jane, this is my friend Alexandra Cabot, she's our ADA at SVU and one hell of a prosecutor" Hands were shaken all round before they sat.

"A pleasure to meet you both, I'm sorry I was late, I was held up by my boss" Liv unconsciously holding the chair for Alex, getting a gorgeous smile in return as she sat. "I hope you didn't wait on me" Maura smiled.

"We were pleased to wait, it gave us a chance to chat" Alex smiled back at her.

"If Jane here is anything like Liv, she's probably eaten nothing all a day, or if she did, it was something unhealthy..." She glanced to the woman sitting very quietly next to her. "...am I right?"

"We were busy, Al, a new case, y'know how it is" Jane nodded, feeling the need to bail out a fellow detective.

"Yeah, there was a lot to go through, we just kinda ran out of time" At Maura's reproving look she stopped. "What?" Maura shook her head and looked across the table at the other blonde, sharing a small smile.

"It would appear that it is a good thing we are around to keep an eye on them, lest they completely neglect their health" Alex rolled her eyes.

"Exactly, I was telling Liv only the other day that a balanced diet does not consist of the food group's cholesterol, fats, salt and beer" Liv looked wounded.

"Hey!" Maura just smiled and tipped her head at Jane.

"I said much the same thing to Jane a few weeks back" Jane and Liv exchanged a look before Liv spoke.

"Don't we get a say in this?" In unison both blondes spoke.

"No"


	3. Chapter 3

**Running in the Night Part 03**

"Rizzoli" The six AM call was not a welcome one., especially after a really fun, but also really late night.

"Hi Jane, its Liv, sorry to call you so early, but we've had another body found in the East River, looks like the same MO" Sitting up in the bed Jane shook her head, partly at the news and partly to clear the sleep out of her head.

"Damn, the killer's not wasting time, what's that, four days since the last one?"

"Yep, I was wondering if you and Maura want to come down and have a look" There was a small pause. "I'd appreciate the company down here" Jane smiled, she knew how hard it was for one detective to let another from a different jurisdiction in; Liv was being awfully nice about it. Yawning, Jane spoke.

"No problem Liv, can you text me the address and we'll be there as soon as we can"

Two minutes later Jane had found Maura, as expected, doing yoga on the floor of her room next door. Forty minutes later they were stepping out of the cab at an old wharf, complete with the smell of the river and the myriad of other smells that come with tidal waters. Liv was waiting for them.

"Hi guys, thanks for coming" She turned and waved at an intense-looking dark haired man standing nearby. "Nick!" He walked over, curious.

"Nick Amaro, he's my partner; Nick, you remember Jane Rizzoli from Boston PD" He nodded, his eyes already roaming over Maura. "This is Doctor Maura Isles, she's Boston's M.E. They worked the same case back there" Amado nodded, his eyes obviously appreciating the view as he smiled.

"Nice to meet you doc, it's a pleasure to have you here in New York, sorry this isn't one of the better tourist attractions" Maura smiled politely.

"That is quite alright Detective, work before pleasure. I understand that you have another body?" Amaro nodded as Jane and Liv exchanged an amused glance.

"Indeed we do, please, come right this way" As he guided her towards a knot of cops at the end of the wharf Jane looked over at Liv.

"Your partner always has that high an opinion of himself?" Liv raised an eyebrow.

"Whatcha mean?" Jane rolled her eyes.

"I mean that look he gave Maura, like he'd have a chance. She is way, way out of his league" Liv grinned happily.

"Yeah, he fancied himself with Alex too" Jane snorted.

"Yeah right, as if? How'd that end?" Liv rolled her eyes.

"Badly, for his ego" They shared a laugh as they followed Maura and Amaro up the wharf.

The body wasn't all that badly affected, still in reasonably good condition. Maura's initial assessment suggested the body had been in the water for less than 24 hours.

"...but I'll need to get him back to the lab to be sure" Maura suddenly looked up and focused on Liv. "I am terribly sorry Olivia; I presumed an authority I do not have. I am sure Doctor Warner will be able to confirm time of death" Liv smiled.

"Don't worry about it doc, I've already spoken to Melinda and she's happy to have you help out on this case, if you want to" Maura looked up at Jane.

"I would like to assist on the case, but that decision is up to Jane and Lieutenant Cavanagh back in Boston" She looked up at Jane and Jane's spirits fell, she knew that look, just knew she was beaten even before Maura spoke. "I would really like to continue to work on this case; please Jane, may I?" Jane just shook her head as she pulled her phone out.

"I'll ring him, but no promises"

Ten minutes later they had permission to spend the next few days helping out, but then they had to 'get your asses back to Boston, where you belong'.

They stood around for a few more minutes, before making their way off the wharf, running the gauntlet of media teams and their camera's with their shouted questions and silent, unblinking lenses. They ignored them as best they could before they piled into Liv's car for the trip back to the station.

Curious, the media turned to a NYPD public relations officer, who was happy to answer their questions about the newcomers, after all it was easier than trying to explain why they were no closer to catching the killer and besides, what harm could it do?

"Detective Rizzoli is a highly decorated member of the Boston Police Department, while Doctor Maura Isles is the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They have been kind enough to assist the NYPD with our ongoing investigations"

Unknown to everyone, other eyes were watching the live coverage, watching and evaluating.

Time passed quickly, the detectives running down what leads they had on the victim, in particular fingerprints, something the short time in the water had left mostly intact.

This one had a record and thus prints in the system, a small time vagrant, a couple of petty theft charges, mostly someone who scurried from shadow to shadow, living his life as quietly as possible, or as quietly as possible for an alcoholic who'd been unable to hold down a steady job since he'd dropped out of school.

They'd spent a few hours chasing down known associates, none of whom knew much. Like most of their kind they were quarrelsome, bitter and no friends of the police. Halfway through Jane had received a text from Maura, reading it before half-smiling as she looked up at Liv.

"Maura's given up on us getting back in time for lunch, so she's having a late one with Alex" Liv just raised her eyebrows.

"I thought those two really hit it off last night, looks like I was right" Jane nodded.

"Yeah, Maura really liked Alex. Not surprise though, they're a lot more alike than you'd think" Olivia looked at her and tilted her head to one side.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's the deal with Maura?" Jane looked over at her, a question obvious on her face. "I mean, she's not what you expect" Jane conceded the point with a nod.

"I hear you. She's smart, gorgeous, methodical and sensational at her job; she's half the reason we get the conviction rates we do back home"

"Only half?" Jane threw her the bird, aware Liv was yanking her chain.

"Give us some credit for doing our job" Liv smiled.

"She dresses really well, Alex was commenting on what she was wearing after we wrapped up last night"

"Yeah, her family's old Boston money, not that she acts like it, Maura's not one for airs and graces, she works for a living and does real good work"

"Obviously you've worked with her for a while" It wasn't a question.

"Five years now, she's my friend, best friend really" Olivia nodded at that.

"Yeah, I could see you guys are close, Alex too"

"You're one to talk, you and her are close" It wasn't a question either. Liv nodded.

"Yeah, known each other for almost ten years, had a lot of ups and downs, but we're good friends, she's a bit of reality check for me at times"

"Can't criticise that, we all need that from time to time; she seems like she's pretty switched on"

"That she is. Comes from money too, like Maura, but you'd barely know it, she's a damned good prosecutor and a damned good friend. Alex knows when to put up with my shit and when to kick me in the ass. She's magic in a courtroom, without her we wouldn't convict as many of the scumbags we do" Jane nodded once.

"Well when we catch this bastard, between our work, Maura's forensics and Alex's prosecution, we should be able to put him away forever" They shared a look.

"Amen sister"


	4. Chapter 4

**Running in the Night Part 04**

It was getting late; both blondes were making their way back to Alex's office after a very long lunch. It had started late and finished late, both women surprised to find that despite their exterior differences they were far more alike than they knew.

Both were almost-loners, each having only a small circle of friends, in Alex's case it was Olivia, the other SVU detectives and a couple of her fellow lawyers, Casey, Abbie and Serena. For Maura it was Jane, the detectives in Homicide and the Rizzoli family.

They had both grown up as lonely children, given everything bar parental love and attention, educated in the finest schools and universities; both had found careers far from wealth and privilege, working to protect society from the monsters that preyed upon it.

Given the similarities, it still came as a surprise to find they fell into friendship so quickly and deeply, both realising they had so much in common.

Closing the door to her office Alex indicated one of the chairs and Maura smiled as she sank back into the chair, relaxing as Alex sat across from her behind the desk.

"Hopefully Jane and Olivia should be finished soon, the last text from Jane said they should be here by seven" Alex raised an eyebrow in amused disbelief.

"And you believe that? They'll be at it until we turn up to drag them out, kicking and screaming to a decent meal" They exchanged a mirth-filled look before Alex leaned forward, leaning her elbows on the desk.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Maura smiled politely.

"Of course not Alex, how can I help?"

"Uh, you and Jane, you seem very close. Mind if I ask how close?" Maura's eyes widened and then she nodded gently.

"We are not involved if that is what you are asking" At the look in Alex's eyes she smiled. "A number of people have suggested we are somehow involved, given we are very close. Alas not" Suddenly Maura realised what she'd said and looked down, embarrassed at her slip.

"But you wish you were?" Maura looked up to see the gently smiling face of her host, seeing no judgement there, instead only sympathy.

"The thought has occurred to me from time to time, as an idle fantasy"

"Does she know how you feel?" Maura shook her head slowly.

"No, Jane is straight and not interested, so I have resigned myself to that which I have, which is the most wonderful friend anyone could ask for" Alex pursed her lips and nodded slowly.

"I see" There was silence in the room for a moment, before Maura looked up.

"If I may be so bold Alex; you and Olivia?" Now it was Alex's turn to look away, staring at the wall full of legal precedents covering one wall. Finally she looked back at her blonde guest.

"Olivia's straight, I'm gay but not out, so we're never going to be more than friends. Really close friends, but only friends, no matter what I might wish for" Maura nodded.

"I understand, I truly do" They shared a sad look at one another for a moment, before Maura leaned forward, curiosity evident in her face. "How do you cope with that, having what you want so close but so far" Alex shrugged sadly.

"One night stands with women who aren't her" She laughed, a little brittle. "It makes the pain a little more bearable, but it never goes away" She tilted her head to regard the beautiful woman in front of her, seeing care and acceptance and compassion there.

"What about you" Maura made a small 'what can I do' gesture with her hands before speaking, seeing the interest and honest curiosity in the other women's eyes. Honesty deserved honesty and she felt a kinship with the other woman that belied the fact they'd only just met.

"A cycle of faceless men and the occasional women to indulge the need for sexual gratification, emotionally however, like you, the pain is never really absent" Alex nodded once, the shared pain visible.

"Damn" Maura shrugged.

"That is one word for it" Alex was about to respond when the window behind Alex's chair shattered, causing both women to scream and duck in shock and fear.

Maura had barely recovered enough to look up, seeing a tall man standing there in front of the wrecked window, dressed in black from head to toe. Before she could recover the man strode past her, flicked the lock on the door and turned to face them. He looked at Maura and smiled, before stepping towards her and grabbing her arm tightly in an unbreakable grip.

"Excellent, I was after you" His voice was deep and bore a hint of an accent. He looked across at Alex who was half out of her chair in shock. "But you'll make a nice addition as well" Maura barely had time to speak.

"Who…" The man ignored her, instead snatching Maura close and darting his head forward, the last thing she remembered was a sharp pain to her neck and Alex's scream, before everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi all, Thanks for the reviews and PMs. As promised, one new chapter a day, until it's over. Much of it's already written, which is giving me a chance to finish the last of Intersecting Lines Book 2 and another short story, 'Doctor, Detective, Soldier, Hero'.

Happy reading and please review to tell me what you think (like most writers, I'm a review whore) :)

**Running in the Night Part 05**

Jane looked up from the witness reports, or rather lack of witness statements that she was slogging through, to see Liv doing the same. Pulling long shifts reading vast amounts of paperwork was a staple of a cop's existence and had broken any number of cases, but that didn't make it easier.

"You want another coffee?" Liv looked up and shook her head.

"Nope, I'm good. She picked up her mug and sipped, before pulling a face. "On second thoughts, this one's cold so a fresh one sounds good" They stood and made their way towards the coffee machine. As Jane poured Liv glanced at her watch.

"Oh shit, it's after seven thirty, I'd better ring Alex, otherwise she's gonna be pissed" Jane nodded as Liv pulled out her phone.

"Tell her to tell Maura we'll be there soon" She looked at the half filled cup in her hand and poured it back into the pot. Liv hit number 1 on her speed dial, hearing it ring, and ring, and ring, before it went to voice mail.

"HI Alex, it's me, we're running late, we'll be there soon, sorry" She hung up. "That was strange"

"What was?"

"Alex's phone went to voicemail, she hates that, the only time it's turned off is if she's in court…weird" Jane frowned.

"Lemme ring Maura" Twenty seconds later she frowned once again as she disconnected. At Liv's look she pulled a face. "Her phone rang out and went to voicemail; that almost never happens, not unless she's doing an autopsy. That's not like her at all" They shared a confused look, before Liv shrugged.

"They were heading over to Alex's office, we can catch up with them there" With a nod they grabbed their coats and headed out into the evening.

As they approached 1 Police Plaza they saw a bank of black and whites in the street outside the building, there were normally plenty of marked and unmarked cars in the vicinity, but these were sitting there, bathing the front of the building in red and blue light.

Both women shared a look, before Liv drove up to the perimeter line, winding down her window as a uniform walked over.

"Sorry miss, the road's closed" Holding up her badge Liv leaned partly out the window.

"Benson, SVU at the 16th, we're supposed to meet some colleagues here" The cop touched his cap

"Sorry ma'am, let me wave you through" He did so, Liv parking the car at the first available space. As they got out she called out to the cop who'd let them through.

"What happened anyway?"

"Break and enter I think, a couple of people are missing" The looked at each other and shrugged.

"Thanks" They walked through the small crowd and passed under the police tape, showing their badges to anyone who asked.

Finally they made it up to the legal floor, the elevator opening and the burble of voices suddenly louder, the hall full of people.

A cop turned and looked at them.

"And you are?" They held up their badges.

"Benson, 16th SVU, Four oh one five"

"Rizzoli, Boston Homicide, Victor eight two five" He frowned.

"What brings you two up here" Liv frowned, looking past him up the hall.

"Meeting a friend of ours, one of the ADA's"

"Sorry Detective, this is a crime scene, there was a break in and some people are missing" Liv and Jane exchanged a glance.

"Who's missing" The cop shrugged as the women shared a look.

"Two women, that's all I know… Hey! You can't go down here" he shouted after them as they ran down the hall.

Skidding round the corner, the first thing they saw was Liz Donnelly, standing there in front of the smashed in door to Alex's office. Liv skidded to a halt as Liz looked up.

"Olivia!" Liv moved towards Alex's office like a robot.

"What happened? Where's Alex" Liz shook her head.

"We don't know; there was a dreadful smashing and then screams, when we got the door opened, well…" She gestured inside the office.

Looking in, they could see the gaping hole where the window had been, beyond that all they saw was the dark of the night.


	6. Chapter 6

**WARNING! This chapter contains a description of non-consensual sexual activity, in particular Rape, whilst not terribly graphic, it may be a trigger. WARNING!**

**Running in the Night Part 06**

Maura groaned, her head hurt, everything hurt in fact, not a sharp pain so much as an overall dull ache, the sort brought on by lying in one position for too long. Slowly she dragged her eyes open, to see a dusty ceiling above, illuminated by a not terribly bright light. For all that though the dim light didn't seem to be all that bad, she could see every small crack and tiny crevice in the ceiling as clear as day.

She stretched a moment, before her hands encountered something soft, skin. Frowning she turned to see Alex sprawled out unconscious next to her on the not terribly sanitary bed they had both been dumped on. Maura was sure she'd been dumped there, for one she was still wearing her Alexander McQueen dress, which she would most definitely have taken off before lying down, no matter how tired she might have been.

She forced herself to sit up, feeling a little disorientated, the last thing she'd remembered was the man smashing through the window of Alex's office, a sharp pain then...nothing.

Rolling to an upright position, Maura took in her surrounds, the room was dusty, dingy and dirty, poorly furnished with what looked like old cast-offs. The room's windows were covered over, more than that; they were painted over with black paint, no light penetrating to give a clue to the time.

Looking down Maura realized she was still wearing her Longines watch, according to it the time was after eight; the question was eight in the morning or evening. A light groan came from the bed next to her as Alex moved gently, obviously waking up.

Maura leaned over, checking her companion however a cursory examination revealed no obvious injuries, although there was some evidence of a reddish-brown stain on the lawyer's neck, though without an underlying wound to conclusively suggest it was blood.

Leaving her to wake up, Maura looked around the room again then stood, walking over to the door, not surprised to find it locked. She wandered around the room for a moment, finding nothing of interest, taking note of the smell of decay and disuse that filled the room, before making her way back to sit on the bed and, after a moment's reflection, commenced a few yoga warm-up moves to limber up her stiff muscles.

"Where are we?" Alex's eyes roamed the room before landing on Maura, sitting at the end of the bed, rolling her neck and shoulders.

"We appear to be locked in this room, although where this room is escapes me" Maura turned to look at Alex, who was regarding her through calm eyes. "As far as I can tell, we are uninjured, though there is a dried substance on your neck which may be blood however I could see no wound"

Alex nodded, her eyes taking in the room, it was obviously an older building, run down and decaying, heaven knows where though.

"I take it the doors locked?" Maura nodded. "Figures; wonder where we are and who brought us here?" Maura looked across at Alex, tilting her head at her.

"I have no idea, the last memory I have was of someone smashing in the window of your office, a male, he locked the door, grabbed me and then it went dark" Alex's brow twisted in thought.

"Yeah, neat trick that, seeing my office's on the third floor and there's no fire escape outside" she shook her head. "I remember him grabbing you, you screamed and then fell to the floor. He looked at me and there was blood on his mouth, then he grabbed me and I screamed, that's all I can remember" Maura frowned, remembering a sharp pain.

"Blood on his face?" Maura's hand rose to her neck where she recalled the pain. "I cannot feel an injury, do you see anything" Alex leaned over and pushed Maura's hair to one side.

"There's some dried blood, but no injury that I can see" They looked at each other before Alex spoke again. "I'm still trying to understand how someone snatched us out of 1PP, the place is crawling with cops, how did he get us out of there?" Maura shook her head.

"I have no idea, though I am sure that Jane and Olivia are frantically trying to find us" Alex looked around the room again.

"Let's hope they can" They sat there quietly for a moment before Alex frowned. "Does it seem strange to you that we've been kidnapped, being held somewhere pretty scary really and we're not freaking out about it? I don't know about you but I'd normally be panicking right now" Maura nodded.

"I had thought my acceptance of the situation was rather strange, I was thinking that we may have been drugged, but I have seen no needle marks on your or my arms and I am not feeling anything that could be a needle mark anywhere on my body" Alex nodded.

"Weird, not that I'm missing the terror and panic, but it doesn't really make sense"

"Oh but it does Alexandra" At the deep voice both women's heads turned, to see the same man who attacked them standing in the open doorway, dressed in a dark grey long coat over black shirt and trousers, clean shaven with a dark countenance, a strong but rather plain face under a shock of dark, curly hair.

""You are calm because I am enforcing calm upon you. It suits me to have you both calm and aware, it makes our discussions much easier" Alex was marginally faster.

"Who're you?"

"Why are we being kept prisoner?" The man stepped through the door and walked over to a single, aged armchair sitting against one wall. "All will be answered in good time" He turned and sat down, seemingly quite athletic and graceful for someone so large, not fat but obviously muscular.

"My name is Kalin Vanchev, and I am your master" The statement, delivered with a calm assurance took the wind out of both women's sails for a moment, before Alex rallied first, her voice full of scorn.

"What the hell d you mean, my master?"

"Exactly what it means' I am your master and you belong to me, body and mind" Alex's lips thinned in anger as she rose to her feet, hands on her hips.

"Bullshit" Maura crossed her arms and stood.

"I refuse to accept your claims" Vanchev looked from one woman to the other, taking them in as they stood there shoulder to shoulder, staring at him before he smiled widely.

"You both have spirit; I'll give you that; however your denials change nothing. If I am not your master, walk out that door, it is open, leave, if you can" Both women stood there for a moment, neither moving, before they looked at each other, fear growing in their eyes. Maura gave voice to their fears, her voice holding the first hint of panic.

"I cannot move Alex, I want to, but cannot" Alex nodded.

"Me too" She turned her head back to Vanchev. "What the hell?"

"You may stand if you wish, or you can sit, that choice is yours, I will grant you that. Both women suddenly found themselves able to move again, Maura settling on the bed, Alex standing there by her side.

"I'll stand" Vanchev smiled.

"As you wish, you'll both be on your knees soon enough, I assure you" Alex went to say something, them remembered what had happened, instead closing her mouth and standing there. Vanchev nodded again.

"A wise choice Alexandra; let me introduce myself. As I said, my name is Kalin Vanchev and I am 473 years old this year" The women just stared at him, but held their tongues.

"I realise that may be hard for you both to believe, however it is true. I am a vampire and I am immortal" Maura gaped.

"Vampires do not exist, except as a psychosis amongst the mentally disturbed and delusional" Alex was equally dismissive, her voice mocking.

"Four hundred and seventy three years old, really?" Vanchev tilted his head.

"I grant you, as rational women dedicated to seeking out proof; my claims may seem completely unfounded however how do you explain my ability to compel your obedience?" His eyes shifted to Alex. "You are wearing too many clothes, disrobe immediately"

Maura looked up, to see Alex's face wreathed in confusion, as her hands slid her jacket off and started to unbutton her blouse.

"Alex?" The look of panic on Alex's face was terrifying, her frightened whisper adding to the horror.

"I can't stop myself Maura, it's like I'm watching as my body works without me" Vanchev chuckled.

"In a way, you are correct. I have taken you as my thralls, which means you can no more resist my control than you can resist gravity. My wishes become your reality. I wish you to stand there nude, you will do so. Your acquiescence is not required, simply your compliance" He nodded as more of Alex's clothes were dropped on the bed as Maura turned her eyes away, giving her friend at least the faint illusion of privacy.

"Oh don't worry Maura, you're next. You can contemplate your body exposing itself to me as you stand there, knowing you are powerless to stop me" Maura's eyes grew wide at the casually voiced threat. Vanchev settled back to watch Alex strip.

"As I said, I am old, older than your nation in fact; I was born in Southern Europe in the year 1540, a resident of the area now known as Macedonia. I was taken as a thrall by a vampire elder; he was already hundreds of years older than I, even then. I served his wishes for centuries, before his death in an accident early last century freed me from his control. From that time on I have walked my own path, answering to no one except myself"

"Why are you here now?" It was Alex, desperately trying to distract herself from her body shucking her bra and panties. Vanchev shrugged.

"Because I like America, its energy, its openness, its libertine lifestyles, you have no idea how easy it is for someone like me to feed upon you, surreptitiously over the decades. As far as anyone else was concerned, I was an obedient member of our shadow society, enforcing the will of the vampire elders, however under that mask I followed my own destiny. Feeding carefully, realising that I had to answer to no one" He stopped, looking Alex over appreciatively.

"Very nice, you have a pleasant body Alex, perhaps a little too athletic and skinny for my tastes, but certainly one that could bring a man a lot of pleasure. Turn around slowly" Unwillingly but unable to resist, she pirouetted in front of him. "Yes, very nice indeed, I'll enjoy taking you"

"The hell you will" Alex ground out. "Go to hell" Vanchev chuckled again.

"Alex, when will you learn that you have no choice" He shrugged again. "I could make you enjoy everything I will do to you, but instead I think I will leave you to realise that I will do anything and everything I want, with you unable to lift a finger to stop me. Your body will do everything I want, while your mind watches in horror, unable to resist me" Maura shook her head angrily.

"You are a monster, what gives you the right…" Vanchev cut her off.

"Might gives me the right, the world belongs to the strong Maura, and I am amongst the strongest, while you and Alex here are newborns, weak, fit for little more than satisfying my whims." He nodded to himself. "Stand up and disrobe, I want to see what both my new toys look like"

Slowly but inevitably Maura's body rose, before she started sliding her clothes off, tears appearing in her eyes as she realised there was nothing she could do to stop it happening. Trying to distract Vanchev from her friend's anguish Alex spoke.

"Why take us, if you're so powerful you could have anyone, why us?"

"Because of whom you are, well actually because of who Maura here is. As the Massachusetts Chief Coroner she would be the one to investigate any strange deaths, much as she was investigating some of my victims recently, before I relocated back to New York City. Under my control, Maura will hide my activities, concealing those deaths she can, while sending investigations on other tangents while I continue to feed amongst the populace, safe in the knowledge that my thrall is keeping my secrets" Maura shook her head as she helplessly stepped out of her panties and laid them on top of her carefully folded dress.

"I cannot and will not help you" Vanchev made a 'whatever' gesture.

"You will have no choice, as my thrall you will do as I see fit" He smiled, looking over at Alex. "As for why I took you, you are quite beautiful, a worthy play toy, plus you have a position of power and influence which may come in handy one day. Your presence was quite fortuitous and I am not one to waste an opportunity" He nodded to himself once, before his eyes fell on Maura's unclothed body and he smiled.

"Excellent, turn around Maura, present yourself to me" Unwillingly Maura rotated under Vanchev's casually appraising glance. Finally he nodded to himself and stood up, dropping his coat across the chair, unbuttoning his shirt and strolling forward.

"I want both of you on your knees; you both will bring me off with your mouths, before I take what I want from you" Both women's face reflected the fear they felt as the compulsion to kneel fall over them, despite their best efforts they both sank down, watching in mounting horror as Vanchev stripped off in front of them.

They saw he was muscular, his body full of definition, obviously he was powerful and strong while his body was covered in a thick mass of hair, a trail of it leading down to a thick thatch in his groin where an impressively large erection was growing. Vanchev stepped free of the last of his clothes, standing there in front of them, looking down at them both.

"Get to work women, what are you waiting for" Maura felt her head dipping towards the bulbous head of the uncircumcised penis, unwillingly moistening her lips, Alex meanwhile was desperately fighting the compulsion with everything she had.

"What's the problem Alexandra? Surely you know what to do?" Alex desperately fought against the pull, even as her body leaned forward.

"I'm gay, I don't do this. I don't do this" Vanchev bent forward, the motion pulling his penis away from Maura's mouth as he took Alex's jaw into his hand and forced her to look up at him.

"Oh, one of Carmilla's type are you?" He chuckled nastily, the sound sending chills up both women's spines. "Don't worry, I can fix you, you just need a good, hard fucking" With that his hand moved to the back of Alex's head and forced her forward to his penis. He looked down at both women on their knees in front of me.

"Now get started" Maura resignedly set to work, her tongue slowly sliding across the tip of Vanchev's penis, Alex however was desperately trying to avert her head, causing Vanchev to smirk

"Afraid of a little cock are you Alex, you'll soon learn to love it" She glared at him in return, the hate making her blue eyes as hard as stone.

"I'll die before I enjoy it" Vanchev let loose a massive laugh, his erection bobbing as he did.

"Oh Alex, haven't you worked out what's happened yet? You're already dead, I killed you, you're a vampire now, one of the undead and my play toy" As both women stared at him in shock, trying to comprehend what he'd said, Vanchev thrust forward, his penis head forcing its way into Alex's mouth.

"You're my toy, to do with as I wish, and right now I wish to fuck you, so start sucking"

As their bodies unwillingly complied with the aged vampire's perverse desires, tears streamed down Maura's and Alex's faces, mingling together as their heads bobbed up and down, while Vanchev's laughter filled the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Running in the Night Part 07**

Jane paced back and forward across the floor in the 16th's SVU area like a caged animal, Liv watching her, the rest of the squad had wisely decided to give them plenty of space; after Amaro had nearly had his head torn off by Jane and Liv had stared down Fin, they'd been left well alone.

"Fuck it, I still can't make sense of this" Jane stopped and stared at the whiteboard. "According to the timeline, Maura and Alex were in that room alone for less than four minutes. The people in adjoining offices heard a crash and screams, by the time the door was kicked in, it was less than a minute but they were both gone" She shook her head in frustration and anger.

"It's a third-story window for god's sake, how did someone get two women out a window and down three stories to the street and then away all in less than a minute?" Liv stepped up and tapped a photo pinned to the board.

"Damned if I know. The security camera's got this shot of what looks like a guy carrying them over his shoulders, but he was more than a hundred yards from Alex's office, I can't understand how he got them down to the alley, then picked them both up, threw them over his shoulder then ran past the camera, all in less than a minute" Jane shook her head angrily.

"No ladder, no fire escape, no crane or cherry picker, no nothing. How the hell did he get them down there?" Liv knew it was a rhetorical question, they'd been over this a dozen times, but their frustration was feeding back on itself. She was about to speak when Rollins voice cut through.

"Liv, phone call" Amanda Rollins held the phone out at arm's length, as if wanting to keep her distance from both women, which wasn't exactly wrong.

They'd been completely possessed by the frantic hunt to find the missing women, since they'd disappeared both Rizzoli and Benson had been almost unapproachable.

The Captain had dragged both women into his office and tried to tell them to step back from the investigation, that they were too close to be objective, to let other detectives take over the investigation. Everyone had expected shouting, the silence that had followed had if anything been more terrifying. Amanda had looked over to see both women standing shoulder to shoulder facing the Captain, from the looks on their faces she was just glad it wasn't her they were focused on.

Thirty seconds later they'd turned and walked out, leaving a stunned Cragen behind them, while they'd gone back to work as if they'd never been interrupted. Amanda didn't know what had been said, but it had been enough to stop Cragen in his tracks.

Rollins shivered, those two practically radiated intensity, they hadn't slept, barely ate, just poured everything they had into the investigation. She knew that Cabot and Benson were close, apparently Rizzoli and her doctor friend were too, but this wasn't an investigation, it was a crusade, nothing mattered to them but finding their friends.

Rizzoli had called back to Boston, obviously reporting back to her boss. Rollins had only heard Rizzoli's side of the conversation, but it had ended with her telling whoever was on the other end of the call that she was 'staying in New York until they found Maura and if they wanted her badge, they could damn well come down here and get it, but they'd better bring a SWAT team with them. Until then either help us find them or fuck off out of our way'

Rizzoli had ended the call, holstered her cell phone and gone back to work.

They'd been back to the scene of the kidnapping twice, each time tearing the place apart while CSU had been mercilessly hounded for any evidence. When they'd tried to tell the detectives that they were busy and their evidence was in the cue, Benson had stood there, her voice as cold as ice, telling whoever was on the other end of the line that if they couldn't get the information to her immediately, she would come down there and personally beat the hell out of anyone holding up their evidence. They could either deliver the evidence or deal with them in person.

CSU had delivered the evidence less than an hour later.

Unfortunately it hadn't told them much, a set of prints that matched a series of unsolved murders across the country over the last fifteen years, no match to a person, just the same prints turning up all over the country.

More clues that added up to precisely nothing, leaving a pair of sleep-deprived, extremely short-tempered detectives chasing their tails, looking for something to bite.

"Can you take it please" Amanda shook her head.

"Some guys insistent on speaking to either you or Rizzoli, said it's about your case" Seconds later Benson had the phone and was speaking as Amanda tried to not too obviously eavesdrop.

"It's Benson, who is this…yes, we're both here…what information…yes, I know where that is…when...ok" Liv handed the phone back, nodded and walked off, back to where Rizzoli was waiting.

As she watched, both women pulled on jackets and walked out of the squad room, no word of explanation, just a single-minded obsession on finding the missing women. For a moment she shivered again, 'G_od help whoever's done this when they find them and god help us all if they don't_'.


	8. Chapter 8

**Running in the Night Part 08**

Twenty minutes later they were walking through the doors of Le Bernardin on West 51st, both women had been surprised to see it was dark outside, early evening, they'd lost track of time. Jane's jaw tightened as she saw inside their destination, she knew this sort of place all too well, it wasn't a place that welcomed the daughter of a plumber. Upper crust and sophisticated, Maura would be right at home here, with tiny portions of food Jane couldn't recognise or pronounce, at ridiculous prices. Unknown to her Olivia was standing next to her, thinking almost exactly the same thoughts; 'Alex would love this place'

The restaurant oozed money, sophistication and class, the maître d practically sneering at their work clothes, right up till Liv gave him their names and told them they were expected. The sneer was instantly replaced with a look of servile, smarmy charm as he snapped his fingers, summoning a waitress who was ordered to convey them 'upstairs, at once'. Liv and Jane exchanged a look, eyebrows rising in unison.

They followed the waitress up a set of stairs to the floor above the restaurant to what was obviously a set of private dining rooms. They exchanged another glance as the girl knocked on a closed door, before a male voice told them to come in, the waitress holding the door for them, then closing it after them.

The room was well lit, both women's attention flicking round the room, taking it in with an experienced eye, noting the doors and windows, before coming to rest on the tableau at the far end of the room. Sitting at the head of the table was a woman, dark haired, flanked by two men standing against the wall behind her, both men looked like they may have been carved from stone, obviously well-tailored suits not doing much to conceal that both were massively well-built.

"Detective Benson, Detective Rizzoli, please come in and take a seat, we have much to discuss" The woman's voice was low, sexy and sultry, with a tone of underlying command that suggested she was not often defied. As they stepped a little closer, the woman gestured and the two bodyguards, for that was what they obviously were, stepped forward to pull out a chair on each side of the table, making it obvious where they should sit. Sharing a glance, Jane and Liv came to a decision and walked forward, taking the seats offered, realising the men towered over them both by a good head, their bodies equally as impressive.

The guards held the seats as they settled, before returning to their places behind the mysterious woman. Looking across at each other Liv and Jane shared another look, before turning to look at their host, their eyes widening as they did.

The woman sitting there was beyond stunning, medium height, flawless ivory skin, ruby red lips, long raven tresses spilling in waves over one shoulder and down her back, the exquisitely tailored blue pinstripe suit doing absolutely nothing to hide the fact that the woman had a voluptuous figure that could have easily graced a Victoria's Secret runway show, it flattered the suit, as it would have anything else the woman might have deigned to wear. She was quite simply the most beautiful individual either woman had ever encountered.

Both detectives took in the superficial in a glance, both feeling something deep within them, this woman was sensuality and eroticism personified, Liv and Jane had both considered themselves painfully straight, but this woman 's raw sexuality reached deep inside them and twisted something, hard. Jane swallowed as Liv wiped her hands on her jeans, before both women fell into the mysterious woman's eyes.

They were an incredible shade of amber, gold flecked, something quite unlike anything either detective had ever seen. 'Contacts' Jane thought, before rejecting that thought, this woman didn't need to hide her looks behind falsehoods, her eyes were just as unique and stunning as the rest of her.

"Thank you for joining me on such short notice, but we have much to discuss" The woman's voice was a match for the rest of her, warm and rich and sensual, Liv idly mused that if raw sex had a voice, she was hearing it, before shaking that thought off and focusing on the woman.

"I'm Detective Benson…" The woman interrupted, smiling gently.

"Of the New York Police Department and this is Detective Jane Rizzoli of the Boston Police Department. I am aware of who you are Olivia, just as I am aware of your friends Alexandra Cabot and Maura Isles" She nodded once. "I am Carmilla and I appreciate you taking the time to come to me. As I said we have much to discuss" Liv frowned.

"You said you had information on their whereabouts, where are they?"

Carmilla looked to one side and made a gesture, the Greek god standing there stepping away, opening another door and speaking to someone outside, before returning to his place.

"Their exact whereabouts are not yet known to me, though I would hope to have that information before the end of the night, at which time I will convey that location to you immediately. In the meantime I would like to discuss the reasons for what has transpired"

Liv and Jane shared a look, before Jane nodded.

"Who has them and why?" Carmilla sat forward; resting her elbows on the table and steepling her fingers against her lips.

"I have watched circumstances develop, having heard of the disappearance of your barrister and doctor. I had hoped that the situation you are in could have been prevented, however the person who has them was responsible for a number of deaths, including of several agents of mine who I had dispatched to Boston to deal with the situation" Both detectives sat up straighter at that but held their tongues. As Carmilla went to speak there was a discreet knock at the door, being opened by a waitress who walked round the table to place glasses in front of all three women, before nodding to Carmilla and silently withdrawing.

"Please, enjoy your drinks, I understand you have had little chance for food or drink since your lovers were taken, allow me to provide sustenance while we talk" She nodded at Jane. "I believe you drink MGD 64 beer Detective" She smiled gently at Jane's obvious look of surprise, before turning to Liv. "I believe you prefer a good quality scotch on the rocks, I hope the Laphroig is acceptable" Liv couldn't contain herself.

"Look, Miss…"

Carmilla, just Carmilla will suffice" Liv nodded abruptly.

"Carmilla, could you please tell us where they are, or what's happened, or something" Jane nodded.

"Yeah, thanks for the drink but we'd rather know what the hell's going on"

"My tale will take some telling and there is no reason we should not be comfortable while it's told" Carmilla reached out and lifted her glass, swirling the golden brown liquid around the glass before taking a sniff. "This cognac is excellent, I trust your drinks will be as well" She took a small sip before placing the glass back on the table, noting that neither woman had touched their drinks.

"Please Jane, Olivia, relax, my tale will take some time to tell and I assure you that you will need those drinks"

"You were telling us about who has them" Carmilla sighed slightly, before nodding at Jane.

"Your lovers are held by an individual named Kalin Vanchev, he has kidnapped them for his own purposes, a purpose which I believe has much to do with their professions as their beauty" Carmilla paused, as if expecting an interruption, but both women held their peace. "Vanchev is the one responsible for many of the crimes you are investigating, both in Boston and here in New York. This includes the bodies found in the river that you are investigating Jane, as well as three other deaths. He was also responsible for the deaths of those children that you are investigating Olivia, as well as several others" Jane's eyes narrowed, as Liv's lips thinned, but both women were silent.

"Vanchev was a member of an organization, a secret society if you will. He enforced order within that society; he was an arbiter, the oldest and most powerful of the arbiters in fact. Unfortunately he has gone rogue, having turned his back on that society and its rules, instead flaunting the rules he previously upheld to wallow in the forbidden and the taboo" Jane leaned forward.

"What sort of things?"

"Vanchev is a killer, the worst sort of killer, in that he preys on the weak, the helpless and the innocent, such as the children he killed here in New York. He also preys on the weakest in society, including the dispossessed and the destitute. Since he has arrived here in New York I believe that he has killed several homeless street people" She held up her hand. "I believe however that your lovers Alexandra and Maura are not dead, Vanchev appears to have other plans for them" Olivia and Jane exchanged a look before Liv spoke.

"What sort of psycho is this Vanchev anyway?"

The very worst kind Olivia, the amoral kind" Jane snorted.

"Aren't they all?" Carmilla was unfazed.

"Not so much as you would believe Jane. Both of you have had celebrated careers, encountered some of the worst monsters possible, or so you would believe. Vanchev is far beyond your experience" Jane frowned.

"I dunno, I've met some monsters in this job" Carmilla nodded politely.

"Indeed you have, Charles Hoyt for example, however Vanchev is much worse" Jane sat back, her expression closing in as Liv leaned forward.

"How?"

"Vanchev is, by your standards, a literal monster, for he is a vampire"


	9. Chapter 9

I am sorry for the delays in what was going to be a one chapter a day story, unfortunately I suddenly find myself in a country where internet access is unreliable and the connectivity patchy at best. Not to mention the local situation here is enough to make me actually fear for my long term life expectancy, the first time that's happened in more than a decade, last time that happened I was being shot at in East Timor.

I am rewriting elements of this story, in partial reaction to the seriously unhappy reviews left by some people. I had considered yanking the story completely, but in the end I didn't on the basis that I have a story to tell and I should do so, even if that story may not be to everyone's tastes.

**Running in the Night Part 09**

Maura and Alex lay there exhausted. They'd spent hours serving Vanchev's perverse needs, completely, utterly and degradingly. He'd commented that being a vampire granted greater stamina, something he'd proven beyond a doubt, having used them over and over again, hour after hour, until finally even his superior stamina had been spent.

Finally he'd turned, pulled his clothes on and left, closing the door behind him, it may not have even been locked, they just felt his compulsion to stay there settle upon them, making fleeing impossible.

Over the next hour the various aches and pains caused by Vanchev's repeated assaults had abated, leaving them physically unharmed but mentally reeling, both women huddled close together, comforting each other through just being there as they struggled to come to terms, after a fashion, with what had happened to them. They had been there for each other, offering comfort as each tried to deal with what had happened to them, the shocking changes in their lives.

Each had been racked by sobbing, the long periods of numbness and grief, tears flowing till they could fall no more, Alex had held Maura as she had come apart at the memory of what had been done to them, in turn Maura had offered a shoulder for Alex to literally cry on, each helping to other to try and process the horrors of the evening just past.

Eventually, they had subsided, barely speaking, both knowing the other was in the same place, the knowledge they were not alone in their rage and grief and misery helping in some small way as they struggled with the knowledge of what had happened.

Finally Maura frowned, reaching out carefully to lay a finger against Alex's neck, as the other woman looked at her curiously. Sitting back she looked at her friend.

"I am surprised; based on what Vanchev has claimed, we should be dead, I believe the common term is 'Undead', however I can feel a pulse, very, very weak, but there is one there" Alex shook her head.

"Undead? Really Maura, you believe his story?" The doctor shrugged.

"I prefer to retain an open mind" She turned to face Alex. "It appears that we have a heightened ability to recover from injury, the bruises he inflicted have already gone" Alex shrugged, her voice full of sarcasm.

"Marvelous, good to see there's an upside from all of this" Maura shook her head.

"Try and remain positive Alex, we seem to be able to survive injury that may otherwise have proven life-threatening, that same ability may be critical to our ability to escape Vanchev if an opportunity arises" Alex nodded slowly.

"I suppose, I just want to wake up and realise this is a horrible nightmare" Maura nodded slowly.

"That would be an acceptable outcome; however I prefer to place my hopes in Jane and Olivia" Alex looked up at her fellow captive, a faint gleam of hope in her eyes.

"They'll be frantic, doing everything they can to find us" Maura nodded.

"I have been in similar situations before, in each case Jane has saved me. I continue to trust the same will happen this time"

"Yeah, I trust Liv too, they'll find us" They were silent for a while, before Alex leaned forward, examining Maura's skin. At her friend's curious look she leaned back, puzzlement obvious in her eyes.

"I need glasses, I have mild astigmatism in both eyes, I don't know where my glasses are, but I can see fine without them, better than fine in fact, I can see the individual pores in your skin, clear as day despite the poor lighting" Maura nodded slowly.

"It would appear that our bodies newly-heightened ability to withstand and repair injury has other side effects, in this case the repair of your eyesight" Maura paused for a moment, her eyes unfocused as she took on a strange expression before eventually coming back to her friend. "I have just realised that I have an unpleasant sensation in my mouth, I believe that my body is healing old trauma, in this case a filling in one of my teeth, it feels like the filling is being pushed out of my tooth"

Several minutes later Maura removed a filling from her mouth, the small mass of amalgam sitting in her palm, as Alex reported the same unpleasant sensation in her teeth as an implant was forced out of her jaw, replaced by a new tooth. They sat there staring at each other for a while, before finally Maura spoke.

"It would appear that our bodies are repairing themselves, we seem to be able to heal injuries, no matter how old. I notice that my appendix scar and a much more recent scar on my calf have both healed up completely" Alex reached up, her fingers wandering across her shoulder.

"I was shot, here, but I can feel it fading" Maura leaned forward, examining the area.

"Yes, the scar tissue is barely visible and will likely be gone within the hour" They looked at each other, before Alex spoke.

"So it looks like we've got some kind of accelerated healing?"

"It would seem so, when Vanchev forced himself upon me, particularly during the anal…" She paused for a moment to settle herself as best she could before continuing. "I felt a tearing as he penetrated me with his unlubricated penis. That sort of assault should have left me bleeding, however the pain passed in short order and there was no sign of post assault bleeding" Alex shook her head slowly.

"The bastard raped us Maura, how can you be so, I don't know, clinical about this?"

"I believe that Vanchev is continuing to enforce a level of calmness upon us; trust me Alex, normally I would be anything but clinical at this point" Alex grimaced.

"I just want to gouge his eyes out with my nails, then tear his dick off, the whole time I wanted to fight him but couldn't" Maura nodded.

"I too felt the same, I wanted to resist, but my body did anything he wanted" She felt like crying but her body wouldn't cooperate, refusing to produce anymore tears. "I have never felt so completely helpless" Alex's jaw set tightly.

"Nor have I, no matter how much I wanted to stop, to stop him, I couldn't, my body did everything the bastard wanted, I hated it but my body responded to everything he did" Maura shook her head.

"The power he holds over us is frightening, surely there is some way we can find to break that hold"

"I don't know, I couldn't do anything to resist him" Alex pulled a disgusted grimace. "I don't like sex with guys, the thought makes me sick, but he did anything he wanted and there was nothing I could do to stop him" They were silent for a while, before Maura's eyes widened. She leaned forward and peered closely at her friend's face. Alex's eyes narrowed.

"What? What's up Maura?"

"Your skin seems paler; you seem tired, exhausted perhaps may be the better term. Your eyes are less bright and your hair seems less healthy" Alex took in her friend's appearance as well.

"Yeah, I see it too, like your skin's a bit sallow, the eyes a bit sunken, like you said, exhaustion" Maura sat back and pursed her lips.

"I wonder if the process of healing our injuries has taken its toll on our stamina, perhaps we need to rest and recuperate" Alex frowned.

"But I don't feel sleepy, it's like I'm tired but I don't want to sleep"

"Your body needs to recover, but sleep is not what you need" Both women's heads swung to where Vanchev stood in the doorway, smiling unpleasantly at both women who unconsciously leaned away from him and closer together for mutual support. As he stepped through the door they noticed he was dragging a body behind him.

"I have something for you" He easily tossed the body towards them across the floor, the person rolling untidily up against the foot of the bed as both women hurriedly moved out of the way. At first glance the unconscious man looked like a vagrant, something the smell confirmed almost immediately.

"Go ahead, you need to feed to remain healthy, gorge yourself on him" Both blonde's looked appalled at the suggestion.

"You've got to be joking" It was Alex, shaking her head. "No" Maura was equally adamant.

"What kind of monster do you think I am?" Vanchev grinned, showing his white, shining teeth.

"You forget, I know exactly what sort of monster you are, after all I made you both one" He stepped up and stood over them. "You will start to feel an ache in your gut, a restlessness you cannot quite control, a hunger you cannot master, correct?" Both women refused to speak.

"Deny it all you like, that is your body demanding to be fed. Look at each other; see how your eyes seem duller, your skin more pale and taunt, how you look and feel more lifeless. Your body is feeding on itself, denied sustenance it will continue to do so until it shuts down, placing you in a death-like stasis, sleeping until awoken by the proximity of live prey" For a moment he looked grim.

"Believe me, you don't ever want to get to that stage, you will gorge yourself on anything that lives, desperate to feed. It's not a particularly enjoyable experience" He reached down and grabbed the unconscious vagrant by one arm, dragging him upright.

"I have brought you a meal, now feed" Maura shook her head.

"No" Alex turned away, refusing to look at either Vanchev or the unconscious vagrant.

"No, I won't" Vanchev's brows rose, his smile as mocking as his voice

"So noble, so determined; protest all you like, you are vampires and we must feed" In a single motion he reached down and grasped the neck and shoulder of the vagrant, his fingers sinking into the flesh and clothing, before, with a wet, tearing sound, he tore away the clothes and the flesh underneath, exposing the gaping wound underneath as the vagrant suddenly screamed, then collapsed into partial consciousness, piteously moaning in his agony. Vanchev contemptuously threw the man onto the bed in front of them.

The smell of blood filled the air, sharp and coppery, both women's heads spinning to focus on the wound as hidden, base instincts took over. Both felt Vanchev's compulsion but honestly it was barely needed. Their own bodies were betraying them, in an action as natural as breathing; both leaned towards the wound, drawn by the sight and smell of fresh human blood and a pounding need, as demanding as anything they'd ever experienced.

"That's right, take what's yours and feed on him, now!" Vanchev's voice was there, in the room and in their minds, driving towards the same destination as their body's desperate need for sustenance. Without conscious thought, both women opened their mouths, their canine's already lengthening and sharpening, before, with a despairing moan they both dived forward, fangs sinking in putrid flesh, as a single scream rent the air.


	10. Chapter 10

As always, copyright to characters from Rizzoli and Isles and Law and Order SVU reside with their rights holders. Thank you for letting us play with them.

**Running in the Night Part 10**

There was silence around the table for several seconds as Jane and Liv looked at each other, their expressions making their thoughts plain, before there was a gentle knocking at the door. A second later it opened and three waiters entered, each carrying a plate which was carefully placed in front of each of the three women. Their job done, they exited as silently as they had entered.

"Look Carmilla, I don't know what game you're playing..."

"It is no game Olivia, I know that you will find this hard to believe, but vampires do exist"

"Yeah right" Jane gathered herself to stand when Carmilla looked at her and spoke, her voice had changed, hardened, becoming one used to command and to being obeyed.

"You will remain seated Jane" Her head turned. "As will you Olivia" Both women sat back in their chairs, a puzzled look on both their faces, their bodies had reacted to the woman's command, obeying before they could stop it. "You will let me explain" Stunned by their bodies' reaction to Carmilla's command, both detectives said nothing.

"Vampires do exist, they have existed for uncounted centuries, exactly when they were created is a matter of some conjecture amongst scholars within the vampire community. The oldest we are aware of are more than two thousand years old, most however are much younger" Jane looked across at Liv, then spoke, the scepticism evident in her voice.

"You said we, you claiming to be a vampire too?" Carmilla smiled.

"Very good Jane; well picked up. Yes, I am a vampire, an elder vampire in fact" Liv rolled her eyes.

"So, we're supposed to believe you on the basis of your word?" Carmilla laughed softly, her voice suultry and warm

"Oh heavens no Olivia, you and Jane here are both detectives, creatures of rationality and logic, you seek proof do you not, evidence you can take before a jury" She tilted her head slightly. "What proof would you like; for me to turn into a bat and fly around the room perhaps, or turn into a wolf?" She shrugged. "Such shape shifting is beyond me, only the very oldest of our kind possess such powers, I could sprout fangs and bite you, but such is not my intention" Liv sat there, her arms crossed; Jane sat facing her, fists balled on the table, her temper obviously fraying quickly.

"I thought you had information about Maura and Alex, instead you're wasting our time. C'mon Liv, let's get out of here" Carmilla shrugged.

"Walk away and you will lose your best lead to your lovers, I understand you both, neither would do anything which might jeopardise their safe recovery. Am I wrong?" For a moment it looked like Jane was going to stand anyway, when Carmilla turned to her and smiled.

It took a second for Jane to register the canines suddenly growing longer, Carmilla's eyes shifting colour, the gold changing to a deeper colour, more and more red seeping into them, until the whites had become completely red. Unconsciously Jane found herself back on her feet, one hand on her pistol as the chair tipped back, clattering to the floor.

"What the fuck!?" Carmilla smiled even wider, before turning to face Olivia, who suddenly reared backwards in her chair, the shock evident in her face as she took in Carmilla's appearance.

"Does this appearance mesh with your assumptions about vampires? I would not normally look like this, but if conforming to the Hollywood stereotype helps prove my point then it will have sufficed" She indicated the meals sitting on the table.

"Now Jane, please sit down. If I'd wished to do you harm I could so easily have done so at any time I wished" Jane was still standing there, her eyes wide, staring at Carmilla as her eyes resumed their normal colour and the fangs shrank back to normal canines.

"Please sit Jane, your wild striped bass is cooling, which is a shame given the dish is quite delicious. You too Olivia, please, your pan roasted monkfish is one of the specialties of the house and is really rather good"

Exchanging a glance, both women saw just how close to the edge the other was, but drew strength from the other's presence, it was if they'd agreed without words, they could get through this together, Alex and Maura were relying on them.

Jane righted her chair and sat down, as Carmilla started on her lobster, as composed as if nothing had transpired. Finally, after another long exchange of glances with Jane, Liv spoke.

"So you're a vampire, they actually exist" Carmilla nodded, before placing her fork down and sitting back.

"Indeed. My tale is a little long, so both of you please eat, I understand it has been a stressful time for you these last few days and that you have hardly slept or eaten, I cannot help with the first but the second is available now, I suggest you take advantage of it"

"What about you" It was Jane. "I didn't think…vampires" The word dragged itself reluctantly from between Jane's teeth as she waved her hand at the table. "…needed to eat, food I mean" Carmilla nodded slowly.

"We do not; we draw our sustenance from ingesting blood. In that case the old legends are true, however we eat and drink for taste, in many cases it provides a tangible link to our lives as humans, before we were turned" She indicated the plate in front of Jane. "Please eat and I will try and explain. I will answer any questions afterwards" Jane looked across the table to Liv, sharing a slight nod before they both picked up their cutlery and started eating.

"Excellent. One reason I asked to meet you here is that the food is really rather good and I do like my food" She settled back, sipping her cognac.

"Where to start; given how long my tale is where to start indeed? Let us start with my beginning. I was born in the 14th century in what is today Eastern Europe. As a young woman I was renowned as something of a beauty and caught the eye of a passing noblewoman who turned out to be one of the earliest, oldest vampires. Kseniya was taken with me and in turn I with her. We became lovers and in the throes of passion she bit me, turning me into her immortal lover" She looked a trifle whistful for a moment, as if remembering past pleasures and pains.

"We were together for over five hundred years, helping shape the destiny of Europe. Together we acted as patrons of the arts, literature, science and medicine, helping push Europe out of its darkest times towards the future. We had a vision of a society grown wealthy and intelligent enough to accept our presence openly" A look of sorrow passed across her face, gone in an instant.

"Unfortunately such was not to be. Over time I came to realise our two species are too different to live knowingly together in harmony. So we set forth to advance humanity while taking steps to conceal our existence. Thus the belief today that vampires are myths and legends, created fiction for the entertainment of the masses" She shrugged.

"Who today would believe that vampires exist? Are they not a creation of Hollywood and various writers' imaginations? A useful smokescreen for our existence would you not agree?" Jane looked across at Liv then back at Carmilla.

"You said you were hundreds of years old and your partner was even older. How old do you…live?"

"Effectively we are immortal. If we ingest blood regularly, we do not age and exist quite happily, unchanged from the day we were transformed, in some respects improved. The oldest elder I am aware of is more than two millennia old however he has become quite mad. He is a recluse now, living in a monastery in a mountainous region of China, served by the latest scions of family's that have been his retainers for centuries, each new generation raised from birth to care for him. I believe that immortality weighs heavier as the millennia pass and that such is what eventually drove him mad" She paused to take a sip from her glass, for a moment from her expression she was far away, before she came back to them.

"There are vampires in every corner of the earth; we have effectively helped society to evolve to a point where we can be a hidden but integral part of modern society. Humanity does not know of our existence, save as myth and legend, allowing us to go about our business unrecognized and unmolested"

"How have you managed to stay hidden for centuries?"

"It has not been without its challenges; truly it has been a major task. However we have had no choice" Carmilla paused to pick up her cognac, holding the goblet between her palms and again swirling the liquor around the glass. When she spoke her voice was reflective and quiet.

"You humans have become exceptionally good at killing each other; most of your technological spurs have been discovering better and more effective ways of killing ever more of your fellow humans. If you were to discover that amongst you walked another race, predators who had the ability to feed upon you, who embody some of your worst, most primal fears, well I expect that all of that ferocious energy you devote to killing each other would rapidly be bent to exterminating our species, a task I have no doubt your kind would carry out with the same customary, ruthless efficiency that you bring to bear on killing each other"


	11. Chapter 11

**Running in the Night Part 10**

The room was silent, Jane and Liv both uncomfortably aware that Carmilla was right, if word got out… Finally Liv spoke.

"Given this secret is so important, why tell us?" There was a flatness, a note of finality in Carmilla's normally alluring voice.

"Vanchev's actions threaten that secret and by extension my people's survival. I will do whatever is required to deal with that threat. Normally I would dispatch arbiters to deal with a rogue and that would be the end of it, Vanchev however was too powerful, he killed them and now places us all at risk. Thus I turn to you; after all, you have a very personal stake in this matter"

Jane and Liv shared a look, before Liv spoke.

"Surely this isn't the first time this's happened, others must have gone rogue before"

"They have, however this is the first time in more than a century that someone of Vanchev's age and power has done so. The only ones more powerful than Vanchev are the elders and they are scattered across the globe, each responsible for the actions in their own areas. The North-eastern United States falls under my purview and thus I am responsible for dealing with it" She shrugged.

"Most of the time we track the rogue down and slay them before the human authorities become fully aware of the nature of the killer. Evidence is introduced leading your law enforcement compatriots away from the real culprit until the investigation peters out. Others are dealt with before the authorities become aware of it, after all, both of you have heard of numerous serial killers who start their killing spree, then it stops, with no clues as to who or why. That is often our arbiters dealing with the situation" Olivia leaned forward, her interest obvious.

"You said the North-east is your responsibility. How many vampires are we talking about here?"

"Our population is relatively stable, probably no more than 300,000 vampires throughout the entire North American continent. It's grows slowly, a few hundred a year, offset to some extent by the deaths of others, some by accident, some by misadventure, a few by suicide when they decide immortality has its own burdens that have become too heavy to bear" Carmilla shrugged. "We are a tiny group within the much larger population, unknown and unnoticed" Jane frowned.

"How can you do that when you need blood to feed on? Surely you'd be eventually found out?"

"Almost none of us actually drain blood from humans. Mostly our needs are met through the supply of blood diverted covertly from public and private blood supply chains. The actual draining of humans is both forbidden and taboo by our laws and customs, it draws attention to us which we then need to deal with. Draining blood from a human is a crime in our society, one punishable by death"

"Death" It was Liv. "How?"

"Just as you are police officers, sworn to protect your community and uphold the law and bring criminals to justice, so we too have our own police who undertake the same duties in our society; the arbiters. They enforce our laws, the first and most important being thou shall not feast on and kill humans" Jane nodded.

"Having them in the first place suggests you've got a problem" Carmilla tilted her head in acknowledgement.

"Indeed you are correct. The reason that our laws are so strict is that the temptation is so strong. Consuming blood from a blood bank is an intensely... satisfying act; many rituals have grown up around the consumption of blood in this way. The act of drawing blood from a living human is vastly more powerful in its emotional and physical impact. So much so that many who have done so cannot give it up, they forever seek out the euphoria, arousal and rush it brings, in a way it is as addictive a drug to vampires as crack cocaine is for humans" She shrugged gently.

"When a vampire turns rogue and attacks humans, starts killing them, we dispatch an arbiter to seek out the vampire and deal with them. One reason most vampires still partake of food and drink, in addition to enjoying the taste, is that failure to do so is seen as a the first signs of a potential rogue. Most of our arbiters are quite old, the older the vampire, the more powerful they are" Liv suddenly spoke up.

"Hang on; didn't you say this Vanchev was an arbiter?"

"Yes he was, the oldest of the arbiters. I am unsure why he turned or how long he has been preying on humanity, but I became aware that he had gone rogue and dispatched a team of arbiters to seek him out and kill him" She frowned. "They failed; their corpses now lie in your morgue back in Boston" Liv and Jane shared a look before Jane spoke.

"The fingerprints we found in Alex's office, they match a whole pile of unsolved murders across the states, the oldest goes back fifteen years" Carmilla leaned forward, interest in her eyes.

"Do you know how frequently they occurred, what interval between them?" The detectives shared another look before Liv finally spoke, her eyes unfocused as she searched her memory for the information she'd read.

"There was over a year between the first and second killing, then each time it's got less and less between deaths" Carmilla nodded.

"It would appear Vanchev killed once, then managed to hold off until the desire was too strong, each time he proved weaker and weaker, until now he kills when he feels like it, feeds when he is hungry" Jane and Liv glanced at each other, then back to Carmilla. Finally Liv spoke.

"So what happens now?" Carmilla sat back, exuding an air of calm.

"As I promised, I have every thrall and chattel of the New York coven searching for him, in numbers we are talking many hundreds of vampires and thousands of humans at every strata of New York society, all bending every effort to finding Vanchev. As soon as I have word of their location I will convey that to you, so that you may affect a rescue of your lovers" Liv frowned.

"You keep calling them our lovers" She flicked a glance at Jane and then continued. "I can only speak for me, but Alex isn't my lover, she's my friend, that's all" Jane nodded.

"Yeah, Maura's just my friend, well my best friend, but that's all" Carmilla smirked as she spoke, her voice light with an undertone of vast amusement.

"As one of the elders, I am gifted with certain abilities, the ability to shift my shape that you saw earlier being one of them. Another is that I can see into your hearts. You may not have consummated your all-consuming love for these women but that means nothing, the love you feel for them is far beyond a simple physical thing, it is both your greatest weakness and your greatest strength" Jane felt her jaw drop, looking up to see Liv's face was wearing a similar look of shock. Camilla's eyebrow lifted, amusement in her voice.

"Oh don't be surprised, from what I have learned your lovers are both beautiful women, only fair all things considered given you both are as well, no doubt together you would be amazing" At their surprised looks she laughed.

"You really don't understand yourselves do you? Beautiful, strong, brave and modest, if your hearts weren't already taken I could imagine seducing you both, to be the centre of your attention would be a rare experience, teaching you all the pleasure three women can bring to one another" She grimaced slightly.

"Unfortunately your hearts are owned by others and that is why we are here, placing business before pleasure. You have no idea how it pains me to do so, I am a hedonist, one who seeks out pleasure in numerous forms, forms such as yours, but this time I must forego my own gratification for weightier matters"

Jane and Liv exchanged a series of 'what the hell' glances before Liv dragged the conversation back on track.

"You say this Vanchev has our friends" she laid particular emphasis on the word, ignoring the smirking twist to Carmilla's lips that it brought. "Why has he taken them?"

"I would hazard a guess that it has to do with your doctor 'friend' Maura" Carmilla gave the word friend an ironic tone. "She is a coroner; I believe her title is Medical Examiner yes?" At Jane's nod she smiled. "As such, she would be in a position to hide evidence of his work, ruling his victims as death by other means, sending those investigations she cannot stop off on the wrong direction, allowing Vanchev free reign to continue his killing spree" She paused, looking across to Olivia.

"As for why he took your barrister 'friend', I am not so sure, it may be he has a plan I am not aware of, it may have been a spur of the moment decision, after all your 'friend' Alexandra is a beautiful woman, Vanchev may have been simply attracted to her in that capacity" Jane was still grappling with Carmilla's words.

"Maura wouldn't falsify evidence, no way" Carmilla sighed.

"She may have no choice. If she has been turned, if Vanchev has bitten her, but not drained her, your friend will by now be a vampire herself. As such, she would be under his power" Both detective's leaned forward, Jane's question marginally faster.

"What do you mean, under his power?" Carmilla sat back and swirled her glass again, her voice taking on an instructive tone.

"When a vampire bites a human there are two possible options. The first is death, if the vampire drains them dry. The second is the creation of another vampire, by biting them and tasting their blood, but not draining them, the victim will rise 24 hours later as a vampire themselves. As such, they are under the domination and control of the vampire that created them, they are what we call a thrall" She sighed.

"As a thrall their master can compel them to do things they would not otherwise do. I believe that may have been what has happened in this case, he may have made them into his thralls to allow him to dominate them, allowing him to compel their actions" Jane shook her head, her disbelief obvious.

'Your joking right" Carmilla shook her head.

"The older and more powerful the vampire the more control the master has over their thralls" She looked first at Olivia, then Jane. "Remember when I compelled your return to your seats earlier?" Both women shifted uncomfortably in their chairs at that memory as Carmilla's lips curled. "I see you do. As an elder I have some small ability to compel those within my presence through force of will, even those who are not my thralls or chattel. As a thrall's master Vanchev's hold is vastly more powerful, he could force them to do anything he wants"

"Is there any way to free them, if what you're saying's true?"

"Kill Vanchev; the killing of the master frees their thralls; they become what we call free-willed. Kill Vanchev and you will make them free" Liv looked dubious.

"Kill him. Just like that? I thought vampires were difficult to kill?"

"While not as difficult as some of the legends suggest, nor as easy as Hollywood makes out, there are several ways to do so" She carefully ticked off her long, slim fingers.

"One, behead him; with the severing of the spinal column the brain's control of the body ceases and both parts die" She ticked off another.

"Second, force him into bright sunlight and hold him there, exposure to direct sunlight burns the body and we are unable to heal the damage caused until we are once again sheltered from the sun" Another finger.

"Thirdly, burn him, immerse him in flame and keep him ignited, the damage being done by the flames does more damage than his regeneration can keep up with" Jane frowned.

"Wait, regeneration?"

"Yes, vampires regenerate from damage quite rapidly, the older the vampire, the quicker the regeneration" Liv and Jane exchanged a nervous look. "Quite honestly, you could pull out your weapon and shoot me repeatedly, only to watch as my body's wounds closed, after expelling the bullets" She smiled. "Though I would appreciate it if you do not put that to the test, not only would it disturb the diners downstairs…" Carmilla ran her hand down the 'V' of her business suit, drawing the eye to her voluptuous cleavage with a sly smile. "it would put some very nasty holes in this rather lovely suit" She paused for a moment, then nodded to herself.

"Perhaps this will suffice" Carmilla turned and held out her hand, as one of her silent guards stepped forward and handed her a long, narrow-bladed dagger. Carmilla handed it to Liv. "Please examine the knife, see that it is indeed real and very, very sharp" Olivia did, testing the point and nodding. Taking it back Carmilla passed it to Jane. "Please, you as well Jane" Jane tested the edge and the point, pulling her thumb away from the razor-sharp point, then nodding at Carmilla.

"It's real" At a gesture from Carmilla, Jane handed it back, Carmilla taking it with one hand and taking hold of Jane's wrist with the other, holding Jane's hand open where they both could see it.

"I see you have been scarred badly" Jane just pulled her hand away abruptly, her voice harsh.

"Old injury" Carmilla nodded at Jane's brusque tone.

"Perhaps, however I apologise for any pain that what I am about to do may cause you"

Before Jane could reply, Carmilla had dropped one hand to the table, before driving the dagger straight through the palm and into the table beneath, hissing at the pain and wincing in agony. Jane was marginally faster than Liv.

"Shit"

"Oh god" In a flash both cops were on their feet, reaching out, only to stop when they realised there was no blood, the knife sticking out of the unstained palm. Carmilla waved them back to their seats.

"Thank you for your concern, but while it does hurt, I felt I had a point to prove, if you will pardon the pun" With a grunt Carmilla yanked the blade out, pulling the savaged hand into a fist for a moment, before opening it up and displaying it to both of them. Even as they watched the skin was melting back together again, in ten seconds the gap was closed, in twenty there was no sign that there had ever been an injury.

Carmilla held the blade out and it was retrieved by the guard who had handed it to her, sliding it away as he stood back.

"As you can see, healed, as if it had never been" Jane nodded numbly, while Olivia noted the small hole the blade's point had made in the table top, leaving no doubt it had gone all the way through. "Please, be seated" Both woman dropped back into their chairs, still dealing with the reality of what they had seen.

"There are several other ways to kill a vampire, massive trauma that overwhelms the regeneration abilities being the best one. I understand one of the arbiters killed in Boston was crushed repeatedly in a garbage crusher. That is the sort of trauma required" Liv nodded.

"Any others"

"Most of the Hollywood methods are false, crucifixes, a stake through the heart, garlic, silver weapons and such. The four I have mentioned are the most likely to be fatal to Vanchev. I should warn you though; he is through his age both powerful and able to shrug off wounds that would kill a lesser vampire" Liv frowned.

"Ok, I get what you want; we clean up your problem because we have to if we're going to rescue Alex and Maura. Correct?"

"You are correct, it serves both our purposes" Liv nodded slowly.

"How tough is Vanchev really?"

"He is powerful enough to have overpowered your 'friends', thrown them over his shoulders and jumped three stories to the street, before sprinting away with them while carrying both of them" Jane and Liv exchanged a worried look, each thinking the same, 'oh shit'. If he was that strong, they'd need backup. Jane looked at Carmilla again.

"If Vanchev has turned them like you say he has, how can we turn them back, make them human again?" Carmilla shook her head.

"Oh, I'm afraid that's not possible, once bitten, the process is irreversible"


	12. Chapter 12

**WARNING! This chapter contains a description of non-consensual sexual activity, whilst not terribly graphic, it may be a trigger. WARNING!**

Running in the Night Part 12

By the time they were satiated enough to come to their senses, they'd drained their victim dry, his body slack and lifeless. Pulling back Maura and Alex looked at each other, seeing their lips and chin stained with blood, their fangs slowly retracting.

Alex's hand came up to wipe at her chin, wiping the blood away, before she automatically slid the fingers into her mouth, not even realising what she was doing, desperate for the taste, licking them clean. Maura mimicked her actions, savouring the taste and fulfilling the desperate hunger that had claimed them, before slowly coming down from the euphoric high that her first taste of blood had engendered.

She looked across at Alex, seeing the exultant expression fade as she realised what they'd done. Their eyes slid down to the lifeless body of the vagrant, before the utter, stark reality of their actions hit them.

"We killed him" Maura looked up, the horror on her face twisting her normally beautiful features as she started to back away from the body before her, as if her body sought to deny the reality in front of her. Tears started to flow as she realised what they'd done, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I killed him" Her shoulders shook as sobs racked her body, the realisation of what they had done, the life they had taken, fully hit her. Alex unconsciously leaned over, pulling the distraught woman into her arms as tears fell down her cheeks as well, letting the pain out as Maura's arms wrapped around her, they wept in each others embrace.

Neither had killed before, death was something that was part of Jane and Olivia's lives, they had both come close to death but as its targets or observers, never as the dealers of death. How long they sat there, trying to take solace and comfort from the others presence neither knew, the knowledge that the other woman was there, feeling the same loss, horror, desolation, grief and guilt allowed them both the smallest measure of solace.

"Enough of that, we have important matters to discuss" Vanchev's voice broke through the wall they had built to keep the reality of their situation at bay, reminding them of the truth they faced. Alex's head came up, focussing on Vanchev, who had retreated to the chair to watch them, her growing rage staining her words with fury.

"You made me kill him" Vanchev shook his head.

"Oh no Alex, don't try and blame me, you and Maura here did that all by yourself. He was alive when I brought him here, you two killed him" Alex's face twisted in anger.

"You bastard, you did this, you pushed us towards this, made us no better than you, a murderer" Vanchev was no more concerned with her anger than an adult was by a child's tantrum.

"I gave you what you needed. Both of you had to feed, I simply provided the food you needed" He shrugged. "When you eat a steak in a restaurant, do you weep for the death of the steer. You don't and this is the same" Maura turned to him, the despairing horror rapidly overtaken by a growing emotional tsunami, rage, sorrow, regret and a dozen other emotions swirling through her.

"No it is not. He was a rational, thinking, sentient being, with hopes and dreams and a life, we ended that, because of you" Vanchev was conspicuously unimpressed.

"He was cattle, he existed to feed us, he fulfilled his role in the food chain; he subsisted on other animals, in turn becoming food for us" He chuckled, obviously he found their reaction amusing.

"Welcome to your new reality, this is what you are, what you have become. Now you know what it is to be a true predator, the power and the rush that comes from the act of claiming a victim, you will forever seek it out" He waved in their direction. "Look at each other, see the change"

Both women glanced at each other, noting the changes, hair that had become limp was now lustrous, skin that had been sallow was now shining and clear, eyes clear and sparkling, full of light, they looked and felt alive with energy, despite the superficial dirt, both looked better than they might have with hours of work in a salon.

"But how" It was Alex, as she reached up to touch Maura's cheek, unconsciously seeking out the comfort of the contact. Vanchev nodded.

"Your bodies need blood to survive. After healing injury, which draws down your body's energy, you need to replenish the body with fresh blood. Normally you will need to feed every three or four days, more often if you are injured" He looked at them speculatively.

"You're already starting to feel the other effects of feeding, your body alive with an energy, the rising tide of arousal, lust, desire" Both women heard him and saw the effects in each other's eyes, their bodies already showing the first signs of sexual arousal, the darkening of the eyes, their body's reaction, nipples hardening, moisture forming between their legs, before they turned away, trying to deny Vanchev's words and their own body's response.

"This is one of the reasons that taking blood is so intoxicating, an array of erotic rituals have formed around vampires feeding together, it's usually the precursor to orgies that'd do porn stars proud" He shrugged. "The blood's usually from a blood bank but taking blood from a living host is so much better, its why I do it, rather than following Carmilla's tiresome rules" He paused, his face reflective for a moment. "That's why it's banned, because once you start, you can't stop, the feeling's just too intense, too powerful" The utter desolation in Maura's voice was palpable.

"But we killed him" Vanchev's voice was full of scorn.

"So what, we are the top of the food chain, all else on this planet exists to serve our needs, he did to ensure we lived, for once in his life it had clarity and a purpose" Alex turned and sneered at him.

"You're a monster, a soulless monster" All her outburst gained was a raised eyebrow.

"And so are you, that's what you are now, one of us" Mura shook her head.

"I will never be anything like you, never" Alex was equally adamant.

"At least I have remorse for what has happened here, something you obviously lack" Vanchev airily waved off her protests.

"I've killed thousands of people throughout the centuries, what's another dead human, especially someone like him" He shrugged. "If you live long enough you'll see I'm right" Alex's face twisted with loathing for the vile creature in front of her.

"If being like you is what eternal life brings, I hope I only live long enough to see you dead, right before I kill myself" Vanchev's voice was full of confidence and satisfaction..

"Then you had better get used to living a very, very long time"

Vanchev stood and walked over to the bed, casually tossing the vagrant's body into a corner, drawing horrified looks from both women as his action once again reminded them what they had done, deepening their despair, almost to the point of overwhelming their bodies heated libido's.

"This is what you are now, mine to do with as I see fit. In fact..." He rubbed his chin for a moment, before returning to the chair, sitting and considering both women, who sat there nervously; terrified of what he would do next, before a slow, ugly smile appeared on Vanchev's face.

"Alex, I could tell that men were not your preference; your performance wasn't as good as Maura's here. Obviously she's far more experienced at giving men what they deserve" He looked over at Maura. Both women felt his will falling over them, compelling their response.

"Perhaps you'll be better at serving a woman" He ran his eyes over them contemplatively, before his voice hardened, carrying a tone of command they couldn't resist. "Both of you, strip; I want to see you perform for me, together"

Unwillingly both women felt their bodies betray them once again, hands sliding clothes off and revealing their bodies once again to each other and to Vanchev.

"Alex, I am sorry" Maura whispered. "I am so very sorry" Blue eyes came up to catch anguished hazel as Alex spoke, her voice a low murmur.

"So am I Maura, this isn't how I would've wanted it to be, better each other though, than to have him use us again" Maura nodded once, voice full of pain.

"Oh god yes" She swallowed. "Please be gentle" Alex's heart tore at her words.

"Close your eyes Maura, imagine I'm Jane if that makes it easier, and I'll imagine your Liv, perhaps for a little while, it'll make it less painful" Maura swallowed and nodded as Vanchev spoke, his voice curt with impatience.

"Enough talking, get started" Both women exchanged another sad, desolate look as they felt Vanchev's mind urging them on, before Maura closed her eyes and nodded, letting Alex know she was ready. Gently Alex leaned forward, her eyes closing, as her lips met Maura's.


	13. Chapter 13

**Running in the night – Fini**

**Update.**

Quite obviously I have decided to continue this story to its conclusion.

I have done so thanks to the kind words of encouragement of so many readers who took the time to either leave constructive reviews or sent positive PMs. I would in particular like to thank;

**Greywolf144, Swampje, WILY KIT KAT, Mitsui187, Nix021, Inkwheels, .79, Cookies03, saz001, RizzoliandIsles24, protogenxl, shalimar1661, KatjaAlexanderHarmon, believesvueo**, **Cagney, Ivnhugs78, kwmadhouse7, hayylies **and** Darkness32**

I am completing this story for you, your wonderful words of support have made that possible, at a point when I was feeling very tired and drained and questioning myself, your support was like a ray of sunshine.

Thank you, thank you so much.

Following a series of quite hostile anonymous reviews, together with a number of very personal attacks via PM, I have decided to end this story and will be deleting it within the next 24 hours.

I write for my own and others pleasure, even if sometimes the stories are a little uncomfortable. However the intolerance of others has come as a very unwelcome, unpleasant shock. It would seem that in some people's minds if a story doesn't fit into their preconceived notions, then it is filth, trash and the sign of a perverse mind.

I am saddened that people couldn't actually wait and read the whole story, rather than responding with knee-jerk reactions. If they didn't like it, they should have shrugged, gone 'not what I like to read' and moved on to the next story, not pour on the vitriol.

The basis of this story is as a love story between two deeply committed couples, told through the struggle Maura and Alex would go through, accepting that they had taken a life, that the person who forced them into that situation was still out there and still controlled them. They would have had to accept that they had killed someone and the atonement they undertake to make amends.

They would fortunately have the love of their partners to fall back on when their lives seemed to have no purpose, affirming the depth of their care for each other. Finally, when Vanchev's hold over them was likely to prove too strong, Jane and Olivia would offer to allow Maura and Alex to turn them, making them strong enough to fight Vanchev for their lover's lives and liberty.

Their discussion would have been long and deeply argued, before they finally agree to do so, partly because with Maura and Alex now immortal, they couldn't face the prospect of watching Jane and Olivia age and die. Their turning would have been an act of love, not control, one where the desire to be together for eternity was the trump card that overcame all.

Eventually Vanchev would have exerted his control over Maura and Alex, with Jane and Liv tracking them down, resulting in a major fight where all four women have the opportunity to highlight that they are fighting for something more than their personal survival and hunger, instead fighting for their loved ones, contrasting with Vanchev, who lives for nothing more than his own desires.

They would have successfully vanquished Vanchev after an epic battle, freeing them from his control and allowing them to move on into a new life together.

The final scene would have seen Carmilla offer them a secondary role alongside their roles in the mundane world, as her personal arbiters, enforcing the peace between humans and vampires.

I'm sorry that I didn't get to finish this story, and even sorrier that some readers didn't bother to try and understand the regard in which I hold both couples, giving them an opportunity to overcome the vast obstacles placed in their path to be together.

I will let this story rest, while I work on something else, which I will post in due course.


	14. Chapter 14

**WARNING! This chapter contains a description of non-consensual sexual activity, whilst not terribly graphic, it may be a trigger. WARNING!**

**Running in the Night Part 13**

Their movements had slowed, the fierce passion finally spent, both had come far too often to count, the experience both carnal and transcendent. Maura leaned in, slowly moving across Alex's well-loved body, one that Maura had passionately explored, revelling in the discovery, knowing Alex had shared the same desires and sensations, as her sore but sated body could well attest. Blue eyes, once blazing with ardour but now soft with affection, met mossy hazel ones, the warmth shared between them.

Alex's head rose, her lips meeting Maura's as they kissed, without the blood-fuelled passion of earlier; instead this was soft, gentle and full of care, of tenderness and shared joy.

Gentle pecks, Maura kissing the corner of Alex's mouth, Alex gently shifting to bring her lips to the tip of Maura's nose, hands gently gliding over silken curves. The eroticism of the moment was lost on neither of them, both feeling a kinship that was only exceeded by the love they held for Jane and Olivia. Maura went to speak when she was interrupted by a methodical, slow hand clap.

"Bravo, bravo. That was as good as the very best porno movies, except you two meant it" Shaken from their personal world, both looked up to see Vanchev still sitting there, trousers around his ankles, his erection slowly subsiding, though the clumps of sticky moisture on the ground and the smell of semen suggested that the aged vampire had taken his own pleasure innumerable times while watching them. Maura, now thinking more clearly after the fading of the erotic desire, moved to cover her body, embarrassed at her nudity. Alex did the same, only to be halted by Vanchev, they could feel his compulsion to be still rest upon them.

"No need for false modesty, both of you have nothing to be ashamed of. Now you both know what it feels like to be a vampire, to feed on the human cattle around us. Having tasted it, could you ever go back to the way you were?"

"Yes!" The word was loud in the silent room, but Maura regretted nothing. "I had a life, someone I loved, a career and the knowledge that I had a family, you have destroyed that, destroyed everything"

"Have I? You'd really go back to being one of the unknowing, unthinking, unconscious herd; never to know the rush that satiating the blood hunger brings?" Alex's reply was unflinching.

"Yes, in a moment, you're a monster and I want no part of your life" Vanchev's laughter was loud in the silence.

"A little late for that, besides, I think you're protesting a bit too much my dear. That little show you and Maura here put on was magnificent; I know Maura enjoyed it as much as you did, you fucked like animals for almost five hours nonstop" Maura's mind raced as Alex spoke.

"Five hours? We couldn't have, that's impossible" Vanchev tilted his head to regard her, his voice taking on an annoyed tone.

"Stop thinking like the cattle, you're not one of them anymore, you're a different species, a better one. Your body's already changed. You're both faster and stronger than you were, more stamina, more powerful, more resilient to damage, you won't get sick much and even the most deadly diseases will pass like a common cold' He shrugged.

"Given we feed on blood how do you think we survived the AIDS epidemic? HIV hits us like the common cold, a day or two rest and we're fine. It's the same with Malaria, the Plague, you name it" Alex shook her head.

"How have you remained a secret for centuries, how can you keep it quiet? Surely it must have got out before now"

"We…" He emphasised the plural. "…have a number of advantages. Humans think in months and sometimes years, we think in centuries. The process of making humans think vampires are fiction has been underway for more than two centuries" Vanchev allowed himself a sardonic chuckle.

"Everyone knows that vampires don't exist; they're make believe, something you see at the movies. True Blood, Twilight, Vampire Diaries, Blade, all those stupid stories convince people that vampires are just a myth. Anyone claiming to have encountered one ends up locked up in an asylum, no one listens to them" Maura thought about it for a moment.

"So the stories about the dangers of sunlight, a stake through the heart, garlic, all old wives tales and superstition" Vanchev shook his head.

"There is some basis in a few of those stories, a fierce fire burns us faster than we can regenerate, sunlight burns us and we can't regenerate in the sunlight. Mind you, wearing clothes that cover our skin, gloves, a hat and a high SPF sunscreen reduces the damage down to a bad sunburn, which fades once we are out of the sun" Alex looked up, wonder in her face.

"So you're immortal?"

"No, WE are immortal, keep feeding every three to four days and you will remain exactly as you are now, un-aging, beautiful forever" Maura frowned.

"How are vampire numbers kept in check, mathematical theory would suggest that if you feed on a human every few days, the number of vampires would grow exponentially, as each fed and turned humans into vampires? How is it that you have not replaced humans as the planets dominant species?"

"Make no mistake, we ARE the dominant species, we have our people in place throughout human society, human chattel that are under our command. The oldest vampires have their subordinate vampires, their thralls, in place across the globe, each controlling their thralls in turn; it's a pyramid of command and obedience" He shrugged.

"As for us supplanting the cattle, we need a food source, so we manage the human population" Vanchev looked reflective for a moment. "Mostly because we appreciate the benefits that the inventive energies of humanity bring; air travel, sanitation, music, art, clean water, technology, lots of things" The aged vampire's voice grew brisker. "The reason we haven't overrun the earth is that most vampires don't feed on humans directly; they get their blood from other sources" He gestured towards the body of the vagrant at the far side of the room.

"Besides, it's not the act of feeding that turns someone into a vampire. Someone killed by a vampire draining them is dead. That poor wretch over there's dead, I'll have to dispose of his body in the river later" He pulled an annoyed face before continuing, ignoring the haunted looks on both women's faces as they looked at their victim.

"The only way for a vampire to create another is to bite them, taking some of their blood but not draining them. Something in our saliva changes them, starting the transformation. They lie in a death-like state for 24 hours as the change occurs, when they awake as you did, the change is complete. There are probably only a few hundred vampires a year created in all of North America, a lot less than the vast growth in the number of cattle born each year" He shrugged. "No one's the wiser" Alex frowned.

"But how can you keep feeding, surely with so many vampires out there, sooner or later the number of deaths would become suspicious?"

"The vast majority of our kind doesn't feed, not directly on humans. Some feed on animals" He pulled a face. "Disgusting habit, they taste foul, especially the smaller animals, cats and dogs and the like. Mostly though we feed on blood supplies, we've infiltrated every blood bank in the country, around the world actually, a percentage gets siphoned off and distributed out to a network of resellers who supply our needs" He barked out a laugh. "Why do you think the Red Cross is always asking for volunteers to donate? It's because they don't know they're supporting another community entirely"

"When I'm done with you and send you back to your homes, I'll put you in contact with your local suppliers, that way you'll be able to feed when you need to" He shrugged. "The high you get from feeding from bagged blood isn't as good as feeding on a human, but it's still pretty good" He got a contemplative look, before a feral smile, ugly to see, blossomed.

"But that's for when I'm done with you and I'm not done yet" He stroked his penis, his erection firming. "Both of you get over here, I want you to clean me off, with your tongues" Both women felt the compulsion, exchanging a look of fear as their bodies succumbed to his desires, unwillingly crawling their way over to him, before taking their places between his legs. Vanchev smiled unpleasantly as he reached down and took Alex's chin in his hand and forced her to look up at him.

"Maura, when you've cleaned me up, why don't you teach Alex here how to deep throat a man, god knows her technique needs work, her last attempt was crap" He let go and Alex's head fell, the women exchanging another look from under their blonde hair, shared regret and pain and hatred and resignation passing between them, before they unwillingly bent to their task.

Before they could begin, the building resounded to the sound of a deep, hollow boom and the sound of splintering wood, followed by loud voices all yelling 'Police'. Vanchev was on his feet in an instant, pulling his clothes around him.

With a hasty mental command to 'stay here' he was gone, as both women shared a look of growing hope, could their salvation be at hand?


	15. Chapter 15

**Running in the Night Part 14**

Olivia and Jane sat across Liv's desk in the 16th, staring at each other. The squad room was silent; everyone else had gone home long ago, leaving the place to them. Finally Jane spoke, her voice low but carrying a touch of wondering.

"If you'd told me we'd be sitting down to dinner with a vampire this morning I'd have had you committed" She shrugged, not much else to say. Liv nodded slowly. Even though the room was empty, they kept their voices down.

"Now though, holy fuck Jane, I keep thinking this is some sort of nightmare I'm gonna wake up from" Jane looked back at her, eyes dull from fatigue.

"That'd be a relief; this is too horrible even for a nightmare, god knows I've had enough of those to know" They were silent for a while, before Jane spoke again. "What do we do if Carmilla's as good as her word?"

"I call in SWAT and we go get them, no matter what" Jane nodded decisively.

"No matter what" They were quiet for a bit longer before Jane spoke again. "If they are vampires…" Liv shrugged.

"We'll deal with that if it comes, maybe they won't be" Jane looked over at her.

"But if they are" Liv shot her an exasperated look.

"Jesus Jane, you always this damned optimistic?" Jane shrugged.

"Just asking"

"Carmilla and all the others out there prove you can have a life even if you are a…vampire" Liv stumbled over the word. "Look, I don't care if Alex is, she's too important to me to not try and get her back" She sighed. "Alex's had my back before, I'd keep her secret, even if it turned out she was…different"

"Same with Maura, she's the most important person in the world to me, whatever it takes, I'm gonna get her back" Liv looked up, meeting Jane's eyes.

"Whatever it takes" They exchanged a nod.

"Whatever it takes"

Four hours later they were dragged from an exhausted slumber by a call from Carmilla. They'd fallen asleep at the desk hours past midnight, too tired to stay awake any longer.

"Benson…where…you're sure…ok, we're on it…Carmilla, thank you" Liv hung up and looked across the table to Jane.

"We have an address" Jane blinked the sleep out of her eyes.

"Where?"

"Lower west side, lemme look it up" Jane walked over to the coffee pot, noticing there wasn't much left, frowning she looked up and realised the sun was coming up. Making two incredibly strong, bitter cups from the dregs, she walked back to Liv and handed one to her. Without looking up Liv took the cup, nodding her thanks, before taking a sip, then recoiling in shock.

"Holy fuck! What was that, acid?" Jane shrugged, before forcing herself to take a sip. Liv was right, it was horrible.

"All that was left, it'll at least wake us up" Liv frowned up at her.

"If it doesn't eat away my stomach lining and taste buds first" Jane indicated the computer.

"What ya got?" Liv leaned back and swiveled the monitor.

"A shop, closed up and apparently empty. Here's the Street View image, taken earlier this year" Jane leaned in, nodding.

"All the windows are painted over, be awful dark inside" Liv nodded, following Jane's train of thought.

"Let me make the call and we'll be on our way"

Thirty minutes later the rising sun illuminated a tense scene, Jane and Liv, both wearing bulletproof vests, stood behind the SWAT team as they prepared to go in. Other uniformed cops had closed off the street and evacuated the few neighbors resident in what was mostly a run-down commercial street.

Drawing their weapons they watched as the squad leader held up his hand and counted down, three…two…one…go!

The two biggest SWAT members swung a battering ram, smashing the lock with a resounding crash and slamming the door back on its hinges, before stepping out of the way and letting the rest of the team through. Pouring in they rapidly raced through the building before a dreadful scream rang out. Jane and Liv were already through the front door after the last of the SWAT team and exchanged a glance. Another scream, together with a shotgun blast rang out as they increased their pace to keep up with the SWAT guys.

Bursting into the room, they saw a cop writhing on the ground with one arm almost torn off at the shoulder, another lying unmoving on the ground with his chest caved in. Standing in front of them was a tall man in dark clothing, a large hole torn in his clothing where he'd already been hit by someone's shotgun blast. Surprisingly, or maybe not, there was no blood visible.

The figure looked round the room, taking in the half dozen officers in the room, before lunging at another SWAT team member, in reaction the officer instinctively fired his shotgun at point blank range into what had to be Vanchev, knocking him back a few feet. Jane and Liv had their pistols up and firing, pumping shots into him as well.

Flinching from the shots, Vanchev looked round, his eyes wild, before leaping impossibly fast into the officer who'd first shot him, one hand grabbing a thigh, the other an arm and yanking, the terrible sound of tearing flesh momentarily stunning everyone, before the screams of agony shocked them out of their stupor.

Too close to fire, the SWAT sergeant swung the butt of his shotgun into the side of Vanchev's head, momentarily distracting him, before a wildly swinging fist sent him flying back into the wall. The other SWAT guy still standing shoved a taser into the side of Vanchev's neck, catching his attention. In turn Vanchev dropped the badly injured officer under him, backhanding the taser-wielder into some furniture by the door as he rose to his feet.

Taking his shot, the sergeant picked himself from the floor and grabbed his shotgun, firing another round straight into Vanchev's back at point blank range, knocking him off balance and into a desk, where he hung for a moment before turning and roaring his defiance. Faster than anyone could react Vanchev had taken a few steps and had one hand wrapped in the sergeant's vest as he smashed his fist into his face repeatedly, the sound of breaking bones sickening at close range.

Seizing the chance, Liv dropped her pistol and scooped up a shotgun lying discarded on the floor, before taking three steps forward and shoving the barrel of the shotgun into Vanchev's shoulder and pulling the trigger. The sound was impressive; the damage at point blank range even more so, as his arm separated from the shoulder and spun away to the ground.

Vanchev screamed in agony, dropping the barely conscious sergeant and spinning in a rage, grabbing for Liv, his hand fisting her vest as she screamed in pain, her ribs protesting the strain. She saw Vanchev open his mouth, fangs visible even in the room's dim light as she numbly realised what he was going to do.

A fusillade of pistol shots rang out, followed by the sound of tinkling glass as the windows on two sides of the room shattered, letting the sun stream in. Vanchev screamed again as the early morning sun slanted in low, illuminating the room, smoke rising from where it hit his skin.

Dropping Liv, he turned and backed up towards a patch of darkness, only to have Jane shoot out the rest of the windows, bathing the room in light. With a pained, animal-like scream of defiance, Vanchev suddenly leapt past them, vaulting though the window and sprinting off into the shade on the other side of the street. For a few seconds everyone was stunned, before Jane took off after him, only to see the running figure already turning into an alley and disappearing rapidly at a pace she would never be able to match.

Turning back she found the room in an uproar, with multiple officers calling for backup and medics, Liv had a makeshift tourniquet around the officer with his arm almost torn off. One was helping the sergeant while another was working on getting the vest off the officer with his chest caved in, though Jane wasn't sure he was gonna make it if the bus took too long.

Looking round, Jane suddenly realised that neither Maura nor Alex were there. She took off through the door leading further into the building, frantically calling out for them.

Turning a corner, she heard voices and kicked in the nearest door, pistol at the ready, to find Alex and Maura crouched against a filthy bed, looking up at her with wide, uncomprehending eyes, before they recognised her.

In seconds Maura was in her arms crying as Jane wrapped her other arm around Alex, pulling her close. Turning her head she called out.

"Liv, in here, found them" Seconds later Liv burst through the door, taking the tableaux in before Alex had stepped away from Jane and fallen into Liv's arms, her head buried in her shoulder as tears flowed.

For the next minute or so both couples stood there, just reveling in the realisation that they were together, before Liv gasped in pain as Alex's hug put pressure on her ribs. Alex stepped back, her hands flying to her mouth.

"Oh my god Liv, you're hurt" Liv panted in relief for a second before nodding.

"Sore ribs, but it could have been worse. How are you?" Alex stared back at her, unable to say anything, as Liv looked at her. Standing nearby, Jane disentangled herself, not without some real effort, from Maura's arms, to look her over.

"Are you ok Maur, did he hurt you?" Maura went to say something and then stopped, exchanging a terrified glance with Alex.


	16. Chapter 16

As always, standard disclaimers apply. I don't own...Copy write resides with the rights holders...etc etc.

**A heartfelt thank you to those who take the time to read and provide constructive criticism.**

**To those anonymous trolls who leave hate-filled messages, well, that's what the delete key is there for. ****If you hate what I write so much, stop hiding in anonymity, get an account on here and write something better.**

**Running in the Night Part 15**

"Did he hurt you Alex, are you ok?" Liv's frantic question and equally frantic scanning of her body shook Alex from her stupor as she tried to alleviate Liv's near hysterical panic.

"I'm…alright Liv, I'm ok"

"Oh god Alex, I was so afraid, so scared"

"I'm here Liv, you saved me"

"Alex, thank god" Before either knew what they were doing, Alex had been pulled into Liv's arms again, her face being peppered with kisses, Liv oblivious to her actions in her sheer, utter relief, much to Alex's astonishment.

Maura and Jane were equally wrapped up in each other, Jane having enfolded the smaller blonde woman in her arms, one hand stroking Maura's hair as she held the shorter woman close, Maura's head resting against her shoulder.

"Oh god baby, I was going out of my head" She held her out at arms length for a moment. "Don't ever do that again" Maura was about to point out it hadn't been her choice when with a sob, Jane pulled her into her embrace once again, tears in both their eyes. "I was afraid I'd never see you again, never hold you" Maura nodded.

"I knew you would never give up Jane, that you would find me, I never gave up hope" She hugged herself into Jane's embrace, before her eyes widened in surprise as she felt Jane's lips on her forehead, kissing her gently.

They were dragged from their bubble as shouts came down the hall, officers clearing the building. Jane and Liv looked up, exchanging a nod before stepping back, though each stayed in contact, Liv had her arm around Alex's waist while Jane kept Maura's hand firmly in hers.

"In here, we've found them" In response to Liv's call, several officers pushed into the room.

"Looks like the rest of the building's empty ma'am" Liv looked at the officer, noticing his eyes widen as he took in the two blondes. Only then did she realise they were barely dressed in what remained of the clothes they were wearing when they had been abducted. In a flash she had her jacket off and around Alex's shoulders, Jane rapidly doing the same.

"Get some blankets please Officer…" Liv read his name tag. "Spencer, now please" He nodded and moved out of the room as another officer nodded.

"The EMTs are outside; we can get them to look at you now. Let's get you out of here" He reached out a hand to Maura, only to have her shrink back.

"No! I mean yes, but…can I have a minute please?" Jane looked down at her, then across to the officer.

"We'll be out in a minute; can you give us some time?" The officer nodded and stepped back outside.

Alex and Maura shared a look before Maura took a breath.

"Jane, we cannot go outside, not like this"

"Why not, you need to get checked out" Alex shook her head.

"No we don't, we can't, it'd lead to too many questions" Liv turned to face her fully.

"What do you mean?" Alex looked down at the ground, her voice low.

"Vanchev, he changed us" Liv's voice was low and flat, not a question, a statement.

"He bit you, didn't he?" Alex's head came up, shocked blue eyes staring into Liv's brown eyes, seeing them full of compassion.

"You know?" Liv nodded.

"Yeah, we know"

"Alex baby, did he…hurt you" Alex bit her lip for a moment and then shrugged helplessly.

"Liv, in effect he killed me, then brought me back as this thing I am, alive but also dead so yes, you could say that" Jane and Liv exchanged a glance before they looked back at the blondes.

"Maura…did Vanchev…"

"Yes Jane, he changed me, turned me into what I now am" Maura turned her head away unwilling to see the loathing she anticipated would fill Jane's eyes. "I am so very sorry"

"What are you sorry for, he did this to you, you did nothing wrong" Maura kept her gaze averted.

"I understand if you don't want to be near me anymore, now I'm different" Jane's jaw dropped, before it snapped shut.

"Not be with you? We've just moved heaven and earth to find you, of course I want to be with you" Maura looked up, seeing the sincerity in Jane's eyes, together with a softness she wasn't anticipating.

"Even though I am this…thing that I am?" Jane pulled Maura into her arms and wrapped her tightly.

"Baby, I love you, of course I want to see you"

"But, I have changed…" Jane looked over at Alex and Olivia, who were watching.

"Yeah, we knew there was a chance, it didn't change anything for me though" Liv nodded, looking at Alex.

"Me neither" She shrugged. "You're still the person I love Alex" Alex's head spun to face Olivia, shock registering under the surface of grime.

"You…love me?" "Brown ones full of sincerity met glittering blue eyes on the verge of tears.

"I guess so; I couldn't imagine a life without you. I was scared to death when you were gone, plus someone told me she could see into my heart and that I was in love with you"

Alex just stared at her for a few seconds, before she launched herself into Liv's arms, snuggling in against the detective, feeling their bodies melt together perfectly.

Maura too was leaning back in the circle of Jane's arms, staring in shock at Jane, realising that Jane had just said the words Maura had dreamed of, never daring to believe she would ever hear it for real.

"Jane, you...me...love?" Jane shrugged, pretending to an ease that she didn't have.

"Like Liv said, an old woman looked into my heart and said it belonged to you" She smiled gently; the hint of tears in her eyes. "Given how I feel right now, I guess she was right" Maura buried herself in Jane's embrace, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I love you Jane, I have for many years"

"Well, I'm not going anywhere Maur, no matter what" Maura pulled back again as Jane's words sank in,

"Even..." Jane nodded.

"Even that" Maura leaned up, capturing Jane's lips in a soft, sweet kiss, before once again snuggling close. Liv and Alex were having a similar discussion a few feet away.

"How long Liv?" Olivia knew just what Alex was asking.

"Since long before you went into Witness Protection. I hung onto the thought that one day I'd see you again all through that. When you came back, it just made it even clearer that you were the one person I needed in my life" She shrugged gently. "This just made me face it head on, I couldn't live without you, I love you" She was stopped from saying anything more as Alex kissed her, long and hard.

Finally both couples wound down, to find a blushing Officer Spencer standing there, holding several blankets, all four women coloured slightly, before Liv took the blankets, thanking Spencer profusely. Both blondes were soon swathed in blankets, covering the wrecked remains of their clothes. Several EMT's crowded in afterwards and looked both women over, giving them a quick but comprehensive check-up.

One of the uniformed officers knelt down by a body in the corner, before turning and calling out to the detectives.

Liv and Jane made their way over, kneeling down and looking over the body. Liv looked up, taking the young officer in.

"Thanks Patterson, could you please call it in, we'll need the coroner for this one" With a nod the young female officer stepped back and called dispatch, giving Jane time to lean in, speaking in a low whisper as she pointed out the wounds on the body to Liv.

"You can see the bite marks, here and here. Now we know why he was ripping the neck and shoulder out of his victims" Liv nodded, likewise keeping her voice low.

"Covering his tracks, I had to call the coroner, its procedure, but once Melinda sees those marks the cat'll be out of the bag"

"Maybe, maybe not, we should call Carmilla, let her know what's going on…" Jane shrugged. "…if she doesn't already know" Liv nodded, standing and pulling out her cell phone, walking away from listening ears as Jane remained near the body, her eyes flicking back to Maura and Alex repeatedly as they were fussed over by the EMTs, noting that neither of them would look her way and wondering why.

Several minutes later Liv returned and nodded to Jane.

"Carmilla says it'll be taken care of" At Jane's raised eyebrow Liv shrugged. "She didn't volunteer any information and I didn't ask" Before Jane could respond, they were called over to Maura and Jane by the EMTs, they had finished their examinations and declared both women in apparent reasonable health but recommending that they both be transported to hospital for a full round of tests.

Alex and Maura both started shaking their heads at that, stating they now felt fine, before Alex turned to Liv and spoke in a no nonsense tone.

"I just want to get out of here, go home, have a shower, get into clean clothes and try and put some of these last few days behind me" Fixing the detective with a painfully sad look, she spoke quietly. "Please Liv" Looking up Liv saw Maura nodding and after a short, silent conversation with Jane she nodded her head once.

"Ok, we can take a statement from you there, then pass it on" She looked at the EMT's. "Thanks guys, but they want to go home and you did say they seemed ok" The reluctance of the paramedics was obvious but they eventually agreed after both women signed the Against Medical Advice forms.

Liv walked out of the room, finding that most of the SWAT team had been transported to hospital. She was waylaid by one of the relatively uninjured ones.

"Jesus Benson, the next time we go up against King Kong, let us know all right" She nodded.

"I had no idea he'd be like that, he must have been hopped up to the eyeballs on something" she desperately lied, hopeful that he'd let it go. He nodded to where a CSU tech was wrapping the remnants of Vanchev's arm in a plastic bag.

"If I didn't have a flesh and blood arm right here, I'd say he was a goddamned terminator, he shrugged off a couple of good hits, any one of which should have put him down" Liv nodded.

"Maybe he had body armour, that'd explain it" The SWAT man nodded.

"Don't feel bad that he got away, that shot you got in'll kill him, from blood loss and shock if nothing else" Liv nodded, backing away, before anyone worked out why there was so little blood, even from the arm.

"Gotta go, get the hostages out of here and get a statement from them" he nodded.

"Yeah, they ok?" She nodded and smiled.

"Seem to be, thank god" The cop smiled.

"Yeah, not so often we have a kidnapping with a happy ending, glad they're ok" Liv nodded again and fled out into the street, stopping when she saw several media crews waiting. Turning she motioned to one of the uniformed officers.

"I don't want to bring them out here, not in front of all those cameras, can we get the back alleyway door opened, I'll take them out there" The cop nodded and in a few minutes Liv's car was waved through the police lines and down into the alley as several officers kept the media at bay.

The alley was mostly shadowed, allowing both blondes to rush out, wrapped in blankets, before diving into the back seat of Liv's car, both blonde's moaning at the searing pain as the sun hit their exposed skin, before they were settled in the back seat under blankets and were speeding away from the scene.


	17. Chapter 17

**Running in the Night Part 16**

By unspoken agreement, Liv drove them to Alex's building, parking in the basement car park, avoiding the sunlight as they took the lift up to Alex's apartment.

Fortunately Liv had her key, given to her long ago by Alex in case of emergencies, though neither could have imagined its use under these circumstances. Once inside they stood around for a moment as Alex looked at her impromptu guests.

"Please make yourself at home, I have to have a shower, I need to get clean, god knows if I can though" She looked at Maura. "There's some clothes I have that'll fit, at least until Jane can get yours from your hotel" The blonde nodded.

"Thank you Alex, I would appreciate that" Turning, Alex took in both detectives, noting how tired they looked.

"Why don't you make us some coffee Liv, you look like you need it. You should probably get some sleep but I know you too well, so you won't" Olivia looked at Alex, concern obvious in her voice.

"I'm ok Alex, are you?" The lawyer shook her head sadly.

"No, but I will be, eventually" They shared a long look, conversing without words, before Alex's head dropped and she turned away up the hall.

Liv turned to face the others, forcing some false cheer into her voice.

"I'll take that coffee, do either of you need one?" Jane and Maura broke their gaze to take her in, before Jane spoke

"Yeah, that'd be great Liv" Maura just nodded, as the other detective turned and walked into the kitchen. Alone for the first time since their rescue, Maura and Jane stood there for a moment before Jane opened her arms in the universal 'come here for a hug' gesture, Maura practically ran into them, burying her head in the taller woman's shoulder, standing so much shorter without her customary heels.

How long they stood there, neither knew, as Jane whispered words of reassurance into her hair as the blonde's tears flowed. They were finally interrupted by a small cough, looking up to see an obviously embarrassed Olivia standing there in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt, how do you take your coffee?" Jane looked down at Maura, then back up and half-shrugged.

"Plenty of caffeine, it's been a long night" Olivia nodded, ducking back into the kitchen as Maura stepped back out from Jane's embrace, the detective feeling the loss immediately before Maura took Jane's hand and led her to the sofa. In the background they could hear the sound of running water from down the hall.

They sat there for a moment, Jane's face full of sadness for her friend, so fragile, so full of sorrow, so unlike the Maura she'd come to love. Finally she leaned forward, looking down at the hand still in hers, her eyes full of sorrow and sympathy.

"Maura, I don't want to ask, but I…" Maura nodded, filling in the missing pieces before she spoke, her voice sad and low.

"You have to, I understand Jane. Ask what you must" Jane took a breath, hating what she had to ask.

"What happened Maura?" Maura grimaced, then took a breath, squaring her shoulders. Underneath the surface calm she was terrified, terrified that if Jane knew the whole truth then she would be repulsed by her. Jane, pulling on their years of closeness leaned in close and spoke, softly and full of reassurance.

"Whatever happened, it doesn't change anything" Maura shook her head slowly, honey blonde curls sliding across her shoulders.

"Jane, everything has changed, he changed me. I am not even human anymore, homo sanguinus perhaps, though I doubt that a proper study has been made, perhaps in time I may submit a paper, though getting peer review may be problematic..." Jane just tilted her head to one side regarding her friend.

"Maur..." At her soft tone Maura stopped, pulling herself together.

"I am sorry Jane, I was rambling" She looked up, forcing a smile, a rather false one Jane thought. "You had questions?"

"Vanchev kidnapped you both, what happened then?" Maura paused for a moment to order her thoughts then spoke.

"I was rendered unconscious in the attack, apparently we both were, when I woke up, we were in a locked room, unharmed, or so we thought, until our kidnapper, a man named Vanchev, who you already know about, arrived. We had apparently been unconscious for about 24 hours by that time" Maura looked away for a moment. "He explained what he had done to us, then assaulted us both repeatedly before departing" Maura, looking down, saw the other woman's fist clench hard at her words however Jane said nothing, not pushing, letting Maura find her own time and pace, something the doctor found comforting.

"He forced us to perform for him, he has a power over us that I cannot describe Jane, he enforces his will upon me and I am forced to comply"

"Yeah, I heard about that, something about being a thrall" Hazel eyes flicked up to take in warm brown ones, full of concern.

"Jane, you are taking this remarkably calmly, given how fantastic it may sound" Jane looked up as Liv walked back into the room, carrying a tray full of coffee mugs, sugar and cream, then looked back at Maura.

"Yeah, well, we had some help from someone who convinced us that what's happening was real, that vampires were real" Maura nodded slowly.

"Surely that must have been hard?" Maura looked up at Olivia's reply as the detective set the coffee's down.

"Not really, she was very persuasive" For confirmation Olivia looked across at Jane who nodded.

"Very" Jane picked up her coffee and sipped it, noting that Maura made no move towards her mug."What then Maura"

"We were left alone for various periods, enough so that we healed our injuries between assaults" Maura looked up at both detectives. "I doubt a rape kit would have found anything, given how quickly we were healing" Jane nodded, desperately holding her mouth shut to control her feelings at Maura's matter of fact descriptions. Seeing her clenched jaw, Olivia leaned forward.

"What else happened Maura?" The Doctor looked across at her, her eyes narrowing at the memory of her captor.

"We were under his control for several days, in that time he assaulted us several times, plus he forced Alex…and…I" her voice dropped. "…to perform for him" Both detectives exchanged a glance, the carefully hidden rage in their eyes suddenly visible before they both tamped down on it, at least for the moment. Maura looked down into the cup of coffee she was holding; seemingly unaware that she could drink it, her mind obviously miles away.

"Vanchev took great pleasure in explaining to us our new lives; I was to hide evidence of his attacks when I could and tamper with evidence when I couldn't, all to allow him to continue his..." She paused and swallowed. "...activities' Olivia leaned forward.

"And Alex?" Maura opened her mouth to speak when Alex's voice cut through the quiet, harsh and uncompromising.

"I was his fuck toy" They turned to see her standing in the doorway, hair still damp, dressed in an oversized tee and yoga pants. "He didn't know what else I was good for so until he needed me for something else I was available for that" She noticed both detective's jaws clench at her words, their anger on her behalf a comfort as she looked over to her fellow victim.

"Maura, the bathroom's down the hall, I've left some clothes and a fresh towel out for you" Maura nodded gratefully, the opportunity to scrub away the grime on her body and perhaps a little of Vanchev's taint too important to pass up. Putting the cup down and standing she turned to Jane.

"Please, let me get clean and we can continue afterwards?" Jane nodded and forced a small smile, she'd never really been able to tell Maura no, let alone for something as obviously important to the woman's sense of normality and well-being as this.

"Sure Maur, we'll talk to Alex while you're gone" Maura reached out and patted Jane on the shoulder, passing Alex with a shared nod before the lawyer walked over and took up the coffee mug Liv indicated.

"Thank you Liv, I needed that" She gracefully folded her legs under her and sat back on the couch, her eyes closed for a moment as the detectives gave her some time, for which she was grateful. Finally, unable to put it off any longer, she looked over to Liv and nodded.

"You have some questions for me, right?" Liv nodded as Alex drank.

"I'm afraid so Alex. I'm sorry" Alex nodded and Liv leaned forward, as Jane sat back, listening and watching.

"What can you tell us about the attack?" Alex momentarily closed her eyes before beginning.

"Not much, the window shattered as a man we later found out was named Kalin Vanchev, burst in. He locked the door before we could react and then grabbed Maura. She couldn't get free and he dragged her close enough to bite her" She looked over at Jane. "It was so fast, there was nothing we could do" Jane nodded slowly, saying nothing, as Alex turned back to Olivia.

"He dropped her to the ground and I saw blood on his mouth, then he moved faster than I could react, he grabbed me and pulled me off my feet, I felt a sharp pain in the neck then nothing, when I woke up, it was apparently a day later. I still don't know how he got us out of 1PP" Liv looked up from the notes she was making.

'Apparently threw both of you over his shoulder and jumped out through the window down three stories to the alley and ran off" Alex's jaw dropped.

"You're kidding?" Liv's head slowly shook.

"I wish I was, we have surveillance footage of him running out the alley carrying you both" Alex's voice was low with wonder.

"Damn"

"What happened when you woke up?"

"We were alone for a while, Maura and I checked but we couldn't find any injuries. About an hour after we woke, Vanchev appeared and talked to us both for a while before sexually assaulting us both" Jane felt her jaw clench in anger once more, watching as Liv reached out and took Alex's free hand in hers.

"I'm sorry Alex, I really am" Alex nodded slowly, a wan smile appearing at the contact.

"I know and I appreciate that Liv"

"What else happened?"

"He assaulted us both repeatedly, several different times" She shook her head at the grim memories. "He took great pleasure in having me, he thought that rape could cure me being a lesbian " She scowled. "Not the first guy to believe that idiocy, or the last" Liv's voice was low and full of anger and certainty.

"Alex, we're going to find this guy and make him pay, for what he did to both of you"

"You're going to have to Liv, he's still alive out there" She looked around, catching Jane's eyes as well. "I can feel him; he's out there, weakened, but alive and he's going to finish what he started, with both of us"


	18. Chapter 18

**Running in the Night Part 17**

"I can feel him; he's out there, weakened, but alive and he's going to finish what he started, with us both." Both detectives exchanged a quick glance before Liv looked back to Alex.

"You're sure? At the blonde's nod she pushed. "How?" Alex shrugged.

"I don't know, just that I can feel a tie to him, the knowledge that he's out there, near, but not close, he's weak, but alive" She looked at them both and shrugged again. "Don't ask me how I know, I just do, something to do with him being the one who changed me, I can feel him, like there's a faint connection, there all the time"

Alex watched in silence as she saw both detectives' exchange a long, meaning-filled look. It gave her a chance to observe the two of them interact; Liv could be stubborn, bull-headed, driven, insular and untrusting of many of the representatives of other law-enforcement agencies she crossed paths with, but she could see a level of mutual respect between the two detectives, they hadn't known each other long, but there was a level of trust and understanding there that was similar to the one that Liv'd had with her old partner Elliot, back before he quit.

Alex realised that the two of them must have bonded during the desperate search they'd conducted for them, she could imaging Liv letting nothing stand in her way and Jane Rizzoli looked like she was made of the same stuff.

Jane's head tilted suddenly; over the muted sound of running water she could hear the faint sounds of sobs. For a moment she was torn between rushing to Maura's aid and giving her a moment's privacy to deal with her pain. Looking up she saw two sets of eyes watching her, one of warm brown and another of piercing blue as Alex nodded gently once and tilted her head towards the hall. Jane saw the pain in Alex's eyes and the sympathy, without thinking she was on her feet and making her way down the hall, not even knocking as she opened and stepped through the door, seeing the huge walk-in shower, more importantly taking in the figure crumpled in the shower, the harsh, racking sobs filling the room.

Maura was huddled in the corner, shoulders jerking as she cried, lost in her grief. Jane reached in, shutting off the water, grabbing several fluffy white towels and stepping into the shower to wrap Maura's small frame in them, before bending down and lifting her distraught friend easily, surprised once again at how light Maura actually was. Lifting her out of the shower carefully Jane settled on the wide surround of a huge bath come mini-spa and pulled Maura close into her, letting her settle in her lap, Maura's head on the detective's shoulder.

For several minutes she just let Maura cry, letting her get it out, whispering meaningless words of comfort into her ear, pressing soft kisses to Maura's forehead and letting her arms hold her close, unmindful of her clothes getting wet as she did. Maura needed her; everything else was insignificant compared to that.

Finally Maura subsided, before looking up, her eyes reddened and puffy.

"Thank you Jane, I am sorry…thank you"

"Hey, it's ok, not the first time one of us has cried on the other's shoulder, probably won't be the last either" She looked closer at her friend, taking in the haunted look in her normally magical gold-flecked hazel eyes. "You'll be fine Maura, I promise"

Maura shook her head slowly.

"Jane, it was horrible, I have never felt so helpless, never. It was worse than helpless, I was forced to do things, horrible things, he made me his sex slave, anything he wanted, I could not resist him, worse, he made me do it willingly"

"It's ok babe, from what I've learned, you couldn't stop him"

"My mind wanted to resist, truly, but it was as if was a spectator, along for the ride as my body did whatever he wanted, no matter how much it repulsed me"

"Yeah, you said he'd made you both...perform" Maura looked up.

"Yes, he knew Alex was gay and took pleasure in belittling her for it, he wanted to see what she was like with another woman so we were forced together" A small twinge of jealousy arose inside Jane, to think of another woman having Maura…Jane didn't want to press Maura right now, instead offering comfort.

"I'm so sorry Maura"

"There is no need Jane. I have mentioned previously that sexuality is fluid" She shrugged gently. "Under normal circumstances I would have found Alex a more than acceptable sexual partner, she is beautiful, charming and intelligent, these were not normal circumstances however as we were coerced to perform. Despite that I have few regrets; in this case Alex was a more than acceptable replacement, for it meant Vanchev was not touching either of us, even if she wasn't you"

"Me?" Maura turned to look directly into Jane's eyes, her voice carrying conviction.

"Jane, I love you, while Alex is beautiful and loving, my heart belongs to you, it has for a very long time now" Maura watched as a lovely slow smile blossomed on Jane's face.

"I love you too Maura, have for ages, never thought you'd feel the same way" Maura blinked up at her, surprise on her face.

"Why ever not Jane, you are a beautiful woman and an admirable person"

"I'm the blue collar daughter of a plumber Maura; I can't give you the life you deserve"

"I was the adopted daughter of a wealthy family Jane, that is true, but I love you, that makes me far richer" Maura was interrupted as Jane pulled her tighter to her, Maura revelling in the contact.

"Besides, I am something else now, my life has changed completely and irrevocably, the only constant in my life is you, how could I cope without you?"

"You won't have to Maura, I'm here for you, always"

"Even though I have been changed..." Jane shrugged gently.

"Hey, I told you I'd give you my kidney, you already have my heart, so what's left to give?"

Mura smiled for a moment, before her smile faded, her eyes far away, as an expression of pain replaced it. Jane saw it and leaned in.

"What's up babe, are you ok?" Maura refused to look at her, shaking her head slowly, her voice quiet.

"Jane, there is something important I need to tell you"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I am not sure how to tell you this…"

"Hey, it's ok; you don't have to say anything you don't want to" Maura looked up, the hint of renewed tears in her eyes.

"Thank you Jane, but I have to tell you this, even though it will change the way you see me forever"

"Hey, you're a vampire now, it's a bit hard to think of anything worse" Jane saw the tears start to fall and cursed silently to herself. '_Way to go Rizzoli, you idiot_'.

She reached out and took Maura's hand in hers, quietly marveling in the fact that she could do that now, it wasn't innocent and platonic and something friends do, it was what she could do now anytime with the person she loved and who loved her. "Whatever it is, we'll get through it together"

"Jane, I love you, you understand that?" Jane nodded, letting Maura speak. "I hope you will still care for me after what I tell you" Realising how important this was to Maura Jane nodded again.

"I'll always care for you Maura, no matter what" Maura closed her eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath, then opened them, her hazel eyes staring into Jane's, the set of her jaw telling the detective that Maura was going to get whatever was bothering her out, no matter what.

"I killed a man, attacked and killed him Jane, he was alive and then I attacked him and when I finished he was dead" The words came out in a rush, leaving Jane stunned by what she'd heard, Maura killed some one? It couldn't be true, Maura was the gentlest soul she knew, she couldn't harm a fly. Maura, seeing her friend's reaction started sobbing.

"I knew it, you will hate me, I have become everything I despise, a murderer, a killer"

"Whoa, whoa Maura, slow down" Jane made calming motions with her hands, the way you would for a skittish horse. "Tell me what happened. I don't understand, how did you kill someone?" Alex's voice came from the doorway.

"We bit them and drained them dry; we killed him so we could live"


	19. Chapter 19

Standard disclaimers apply, I don't own these characters, I wish I did, but sadly I don't. Thanks to Dick Wolfe, Janet Tamaro and others for creating them and letting us play with them for a while.

**Running in the Night Part 18**

At Alex's words Jane's eyes flicked up to the doorway, to see Alex standing there with Olivia right behind her.

"What do you mean, you bit him?" Alex shrugged; the grim sadness visible in her expression.

"Vanchev brought a vagrant back to the place you rescued us from. We were both suffering from an all-consuming hunger after our bodies had healed our old injuries, without blood to survive our bodies were consuming themselves" Jane nodded slowly, noting Liv's determinedly impassive face over Alex's shoulder, obviously they'd already discussed this.

"We tried to resist, god knows, but Vanchev attacked the man and tore open his shoulder, the smell of blood, combined with Vanchev's mental push and our bodies intense cravings, took over, before we'd realised what we'd done, we'd bitten him" Jane felt Maura start to heave, before the blonde stumbled off Jane's lap and over to the toilet, retching into the bowl.

In a flash, Jane was kneeling next to her, pulling her hair back and murmuring meaningless words of comfort to her friend. Seeing the towels falling from Maura's nude body Jane felt a rush of embarrassment for her and went to readjust them when Alex appeared, a white robe in her hands, kneeling next to her and draping the robe over Maura's body, her expression a combination of sadness and care, looking up at Jane and mouthing 'sorry'.

Together they knelt there for a moment, as Maura collected herself, both of them rubbing small circles on Maura's back, before the blonde finally leaned back, her face pale as she pulled the robe round herself. Alex hastened to wet a face cloth and passed it to Maura, allowing her time to clean herself up as Jane watched the interaction.

There was gentleness there, an undercurrent of tenderness in Alex's behavior that she didn't really understand. She was about to say something when Liv's voice came to her.

"Jane, we need to talk" Looking round, she saw Liv still standing in the doorway.

"Go on Jane" It was Maura, her voice quiet. "I will be all right" Looking back Jane was about to protest when Alex's glittering blue eyes caught hers, her voice soft.

"I'll help her shower Jane, then get her dressed" Jane was about to protest when Alex smiled a bit lopsidedly and dropped her voice to a whisper. "It's nothing I haven't already seen and besides, I don't think Maura really wants you seeing her like this" Maura shook her head; obviously she'd heard Alex's words.

"I will be fine, honestly Jane, I just need a moment" Jane and Alex exchanged a look before Jane finally nodded.

"Yell if you need me, I'll be right outside" Alex smiled gently.

"Of course" Standing, Jane looked down at Maura's kneeling form, her heart breaking at how desolate she looked, before her jaw tightened, turning away she walked out of the bathroom and followed Liv into the lounge room where the short-haired detective stopped and turned to face her. Impatient, Jane couldn't wait.

"Well, what's up Liv?" The two detectives' eyes each other before Olivia spoke.

"What're your intentions Jane?" Jane was confused.

"What do you mean my intentions?"

"With Maura and Alex" Jane massaged her eyes for a moment, before looking up..

"I don't know; I'm still processing what I heard. I still can't believe that Maura killed someone" Liv nodded.

"Me neither, Alex isn't that sort of person" Jane shook her head wearily.

"Obviously being turned into a vampire changed everything" She got a hostile stare, which she returned in spades. "Well, it did" The sarcasm in Liv's voice was loaded.

"Thank you Detective Obvious. The question is what are you going to do with the information we now have?"

"Me, why's this all about me? What'll you do with it?" Liv sighed deeply and dropped back onto the couch, her hands coming up to rub at her face

"Damned if I know" Liv let her hands drop and stared out of the window at the New York skyline, her voice quiet. "We have a confession of murder from both participants" Jane's face was a combination of disbelief, anger and fury, reflected in her voice, for all she kept it to an angry, harsh whisper.

"Murder?!" Liv held up her hands in surrender.

"Ok, maybe not murder, that requires premeditation, let's call it involuntary manslaughter" Jane stood there, hands on her hips as she stared down at the other detective.

"You're not helping Liv"

"Well, what would you call it?" Jane opened her hands in a gesture of helplessness.

"I dunno, that son of a bitch Vanchev was responsible, he was controlling them, he must have made them do it" Olivia gave her a skeptical look.

"You think a jury will believe that?" Jane looked back at her, skepticism evident.

"Who says they'll get the opportunity?" Liv's face showed her confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" Jane walked over and sat at the opposite couch.

"That assumes that it'd ever get to a trial" Liv's brow twisted in thought, not following her.

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Don't be dense, Liv. How many vampire trials have you heard about" Olivia's expression changed as she saw what Jane was getting at, then she slowly nodded.

"Oh yeah, I see what you mean"

"Carmilla's people must make sure that sort of thing never makes the courts" Liv nodded.

"Yeah, that makes sense, they either deal with it before it gets to the courts or they divert them into the criminal asylum system for offenders with mental issues" Jane nodded as Liv continued. "What's the bet that her people control several of the asylums, that way they can contain people who need blood to survive without it getting out to the wider community" Jane frowned.

"Y'know Liv, it's starting to dawn on me just how powerful and entrenched the vampires must be in society, they must have people in law enforcement, the courts, Hollywood, the medical profession, politics, transport, the blood banks, you name it" Liv nodded slowly, considering Jane's words.

"Certainly in the NYPD, normally we'd be copping hell right now for not having witness statements and rape kits and medical examinations from both victims, instead we've been left alone" Jane nodded.

"Yeah, my boss Cavenagh was pissed that I was staying up here to look for Maura, then the next phone call he's telling me to take all the time I need. Someone must have got to him, someone senior and powerful" Liv's voice was thoughtful.

"Makes sense, to survive and keep things quiet, they need to be able to make things, secrets and people disappear" Jane shook her head angrily.

"Maura isn't just going to disappear, and I'm not going to let her take the fall for something she had no control over either" Liv looked across at the Boston detective.

"So you're suggesting that we let the death of someone, at the hands of two people who have confessed to it, just slide by?" Jane made an angry gesture as she spoke.

"I am not letting Maura take the rap for something she couldn't control" Liv's voice was calm.

"That's the defense a lot of concentration camp guards tried Jane, that it wasn't their idea, that they were just following orders. Nuremberg didn't accept that one either" The look Jane turned on her was enough to make most people recoil, Liv though wasn't most people.

"You are not seriously suggesting that we put Maura and Alex on trial, for murder, or involuntary manslaughter or whatever?" Liv crossed her arms.

"Are you suggesting we let it slide?" Jane nodded once.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting, I am not letting Maura take the rap for this when we have a serial killer out there who's the one truly responsible" Jane put both hands on the sofa, as if she was about to stand, her jaw jutting forward as anger radiated from her. "Are you stupid enough to think I'll let you do that?" Liv looked up at her, unflinching.

"How would you stop me?" Jane pushed herself up, towering over the New York detective where she sat on the couch.

"I wouldn't go there Benson, don't try it" Liv didn't give any indication she was intimidated, quite the opposite in fact.

"I'm just trying to do my job Rizolli, you know, the one where we bring justice on behalf of the dead?'

"Yeah right, you'd actually charge Alex with murder, put her on trial?" Disbelief colored Jane's features. "You'd actually arrest the woman you love?" Olivia stared at Jane for a few seconds, before she smiled.

"No, I wouldn't, I just had to be sure how you felt" Jane's jaw dropped.

"What the fuck?" Liv shrugged and sat back.

"I had to be sure you were on board with this, that we'd do whatever we had to do to cover this up" Jane frowned, her face darkening.

"You bitch, you could have just damn well asked"

"Where's the fun in that" She laughed at the foul expression on Jane's face, before sobering. "Seriously, I had to be sure, we're going to be breaking practically every rule in the book, I had to make sure you were ok with that" Jane turned and strode away, taking a few seconds to get her anger under control, partly helped by the knowledge that Liv was right. Finally she turned and nodded.

"Ok, I see where you were coming from, but you could have just asked. I thought we'd agreed that we'd do whatever it takes?" Liv nodded slowly.

"Yep, but that was to get them back safe, this is a hell of a lot more" Jane shook her head.

"Like I said, my word stands. Whatever. It. Takes" Liv held up her hand in a placating gesture.

"I get it, you're in" She stood up and walked over, holding out her hand. "All set to violate pretty much every principle we've sworn to uphold as cops?" Jane looked at her for a moment, the hint of a smile apparent as she took Liv's hand.

"Sure why not, life's been a bit dull lately" She let her grin out as Liv's jaw dropped at the sheer audacity of that statement, before her answering grin broke through.

No matter what, they were in this together.


	20. Chapter 20

**Running in the Night Part 19**

Maura and Alex eventually emerged from the bathroom, finding both detectives waiting for them in the lounge room. Looking up, Jane smiled, relieved to see Maura looking a little better; with the grime gone she was a lot more like the gorgeous woman she loved, even if her borrowed black sweat pants and pale blue cashmere sweater weren't her normal style.

Joining them on the sofas, both blondes snuggled close, instinctively seeking reassurance from the one person they each trusted more than anyone. The conversation took a while to get going; both detectives conscious that the women they loved were still emotionally fragile, in turn Maura and Alex were still acutely aware that they had done something unconscionable and irrationally afraid that Jane or Olivia would reject them for what they'd done.

Finally, after almost twenty minutes of desultory conversation, Jane had had enough, pulling away from Maura and standing, turning to look back at the others.

"Look, I'm just going to state this once, and I want you to understand exactly what we're saying, ok?" She got curious and slightly apprehensive looks from Maura and Alex and a slight nod from Liv.

"Liv and I have discussed what happened, we understand that things are different now" She started pacing around the room, working off some nervous energy as she did. "We understand you're both…different now. We want you to know it doesn't change how we feel ok?" Not waiting for a reply she continued. "We also know that your actions led to someone dying." She didn't miss both women's faces tightening as her words hit home. "You have to understand that we…don't…care" Maura looked up, her voice halting.

"But Jane, we killed him"

"As far as we're concerned, Vanchev was responsible, not you" Alex shook her head.

"It was our actions that led to that man's death" Liv pulled away slightly and looked at her.

"Did you intend to cause his death?" The blonde shook her head angrily.

"Of course not! How could you think that?" Liv smiled gently at Alex's heated reply. Others might quail before a Cabot tantrum but she was an old hand at seeing past them to get to the root of the blonde's anger,

"Exactly, there was no premeditation, so it wasn't murder" Jane nodded in agreement.

"A case could be made that nether of you were in full control of your senses at that point" Alex frowned, her temper cooling in the face of their arguments.

"This isn't some wrongful death suit, a man died from our actions" Jane nodded again.

"Yeah, we get that, we also get that you both desperately wish it hadn't happened, that you were placed in that situation by Vanchev and that without his intervention nothing would have happened" Maura looked up at her.

"That still neither condones nor excuses what happened"

"We're not saying it does, what we're saying is as far as we're concerned, it doesn't matter. Vanchev's responsible, he caused this and he's the one who's going to pay for what happened" Maura looked up, a hint of fear in her eyes.

"He is still out there; I can feel his presence, weakened but there, somewhere out there in New York City. I also feel that his attention is still directed at us" Jane nodded, her eyes hooded.

"Yeah, well, we have unfinished business with him too" Liv expression was equally grim.

"He can be killed, we just have to do a better job next time" Alex turned to look at her, the curiosity visible in her face.

"Liv, you seem to know a lot about something that up until a few nights ago I would have sworn was a myth. How did you learn all of this?"

"We got a call to talk to a woman named Carmilla; apparently she's someone powerful in the vampire hierarchy. She filled us in on what was going on, gave us some ideas about how to deal with Vanchev" As they watched Alex frowned in recollection.

"I remember Vanchev mentioned someone named Carmilla, he said I was one of her kind" Unnoticed, Liv and Jane exchanged a look at her words as she continued. "Something to do with me being gay, whatever that means" Looking round, Jane spoke.

"Carmilla was the one who helped us find you, so for that she's got my thanks" Liv nodded once.

"Mine too" Maura looked thoughtful.

"So what do we do now?" There was silence for a moment, before Liv spoke, her voice thoughtful.

"First off, we try and deal with Vanchev, once that's out of the way then we get on with our lives" Maura's voice was quiet.

"Will that even be possible?" Jane turned to face her.

"What do you mean? We nearly got him last time; we'll finish the job next time"

"I was referring to afterwards" Seeing Maura's wan expression Jane moved to sit down close to her, hoping her presence would help settle her friend.

"What do you mean?" Maura turned to look at her, her hand finding its way into Jane's.

"I would like to return to my job, to a semblance of normality after what has happened"

"I can understand that, I shouldn't see why not though" Maura looked down at their hands, seeing her small, pale hand held inside Jane's larger, darker one.

"It will require some significant changes in my routine, I will probably be unable to attend crime scenes unless they are at night or indoors" Jane grimaced, realising she hadn't thought it all the way through. '_There's going to be a lot of adjustments, in everything_'

"I'd forgotten about that" She lifted her head to look up into Maura's eyes. "I'm sorry Maur; I know how important that is for you. We'll make it work, I promise you" Maura shrugged, drawing strength from the other woman's obvious care and concern.

"What is done is done Jane. I am sure that together we can overcome whatever obstacles are placed in our way"

"You don't have to do it alone. I'm here for you Maura, you know that"

"Indeed I do" Impulsively Maura lifted Jane's fingers to her lips, placing a gentle kiss against them, feeling Jane stiffen for a fraction of a second, before relaxing, as a slow smile broke out at the contact. "I am so very pleased that I can do this now, I have wanted to for so long"

"Me too Maur, I've wanted to touch you forever, it's still sinking in that I can too" Maura's smile turned impish.

"In that case, can I have a hug?" In wordless reply Jane held her arms open and Maura scooted across, letting her head come to rest against Jane's shoulder, relaxing into the strong arms holding her close, the warmth under her cheek., in bliss she closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around Jane and soaking in the scent of lavender that she would always associate with the taller woman, smiling to herself at the knowledge that she could now do this anytime. Above her Jane's face was transfixed by a slow smile as she pulled Maura in close, reveling in the contact, before she bent her head to place a gentle kiss to Maura's head, her eyes closing as she soaked in the reality.

Watching them, Alex and Liv smiled for a moment, before they turned their attention to each other; finally Alex spoke, her voice quiet.

"So Liv, years?" Liv knew exactly what Alex meant.

"Yep, years, never thought it'd be more than a hopeless infatuation, some of the guys knew I was interested, teased the hell out of me, they kept telling me I should ask you out but I didn't have the nerve" Alex's surprise was obvious.

"You? You don't scare easily, plus you've got that whole Benson swagger and confidence thing going, why did that bother you?"

Liv's face twisted in thought as she tried to convey to the beautiful blonde in front of her just how intimidating Alexandra Cabot could be, from her imperious presence to her stunning beauty and her formidable intelligence, she was the whole package, everything about her screamed '_I am way out of your league_'.

"Alex, it's you, you're well…you. You're perfect; beautiful, smart, successful, rich, you're way too good for someone like me. I mean you could have your pick of anyone, what'd you want with someone like me, I can't offer you anything really" Alex's jaw tightened at Liv's words, though she kept her voice low, the anger suffusing it cut through to Liv though, making her sit up straighter.

"I won't stand for you putting yourself down Liv, you're one of the best people I've ever met, you're strong and kind and compassionate and you're my friend, my very best friend. You're the one I turned to when I needed someone who cared. I did that because I get way too many people who're only interested in me because of the Cabot name, or the Cabot money or the family's supposed influence, or because they only see the exterior" Seeing Liv looking away, Alex reached out and with one hand tipped Liv's head up to stare her in the eyes.

"Only you see all of me, the good and the bad, that's because you're the only one I share all of me with. Why do you think I do that Liv, hmm?" Liv wet her lips but said nothing, making Alex smile. "It's because you're the only one I cared enough about to let in" Her smile widened. "I let you in because I love you. You're the most admirable person I know, you make me want to be the person you see, not the one I am"

"Alex, the person you are is wonderful, I fell in love with you, it's just that I don't think I'm worthy of your…" She was cut off by Alex.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Liv. I fell for you because I admire you, I see the good in you, the drive, the compassion for the victims, the determination to bring the criminals to justice, the person you are is someone really special. It's me who wonders what you see in a neurotic, insecure anal-retentive detail freak that hides behind an ice-queen persona to keep the world at bay. I wonder what I did to attract your attention, let alone anything more" Olivia looked up, a grin breaking through.

"Good thing we're a matched pair then, both of us found the one person who loves us despite our flaws"

They were silent for a moment, just basking in the warmth of their knowledge that the other person loved them as much as they loved them back, before Liv nodded to the other couple, snuggled quietly on their couch, Maura's eyes closed, a small smile of sheer contentment playing on her lips, Jane wearing a matching smile as she held Maura close.

"I think they've got the right idea actually. I think we could both use a hug right about now" The smile she got in return warmed her like nothing else could as Alex scooted across the distance between them and buried herself in Liv's embrace, before she tilted her head up, her lips searching out Olivia's, the kiss was soft and gentle, though both women knew that there was a vast reserve of passion and desire banked up behind it. Later would be the time to let that wave wash over them and carry them both to where they so desperately wanted to be, now though it was all about the contact, the closeness, the knowledge that they had each other, that they could be together, as far more than friends.

Finally releasing the kiss, Alex let her eyes close, letting herself truly relax for the first time in what seemed like years, safe in the knowledge that they were together. Liv looked down at the beautiful blonde snuggled up against her, a smile breaking out; one she couldn't have stopped it if she tried. Looking up, she saw Jane watching them from the other sofa, a smile playing on her lips as she took in their position, Liv and Jane exchanged a long look, before Jane nodded slowly.

They had a lot of changes in their lives coming, a huge period of change and adjustments, but all of that could wait, right now, things were damned near perfect,

The room was quiet for a while after that.


End file.
